Bloody Empire
by Artenight
Summary: After having her mother re-marry sixteen year old Elena tries to adapt to her new lifestyle, though with little success. One day, she is offered an escape when she is contacted by her estranged father, and given the chance to live with him in Japan. Now in a world built on stature, blood and money, she must learn that there are more important things than her own will; family.
1. Prologue

Hello! I'm sorry it took me this long to edit this story even though I promised it would only take a while. I guess I can openly admit that somewhere along the way I lost the motivation and inspiration to continue writing it no matter how I tried to force myself. Now, though, after a few months I've finally found some motivation and actually got around re-writing the first chapter of Bloody Empire as well as making a sort-of-prologue chapter, hurray for me! ^^ I hope my old readers don't mind what I did with the first chapter and that possible new readers would like it as well. I can't say when I'll be updating again but I can promise you that this story is far from dead, so just have patience if it seems like I've gone underground :)

I'd be ecstatic to know what you think of this fic, and since I don't have a beta, I don't mind being corrected on grammar, spelling, etc. if it helps make this fic an enjoyable reading experience :)

* * *

Elena stood silently before her mother and a well-dressed, well-groomed Englishman she'd never seen before, nervously switching her weight from her leg to the other as she waited for one of them to speak, her eyes stubbornly averting the obvious statement of the pair's entwined fingers as they sat beside each other, hand in hand. Her mother merely sat there with a serene look on her face as she turned her attention from the man beside her to her daughter, smirking ever so slightly as she finally revealed the news Elena considered worse than cancer.

"Hilbert Ashford proposed to me last night. I said yes"_, _her mother informed her, her facial expression finally giving away as she smiled brighter than a thousand suns as she reached to Elena with her free hand and pulled her into an embrace, causing Elena to stumble onto her knees.

Elena's mind was completely blank as she knelt before her mother, barely remembering to even breath as she processed what she'd just heard. It must've been a joke; a sick, sick joke. A sudden burst of laughter threatened to escape from her mouth as she tried to dismiss the issue as one, though when she couldn't understand it she nearly pushed her mother away as she began to realize what was going on.

This just wasn't possible. This couldn't be happening.

In the midst of her denial she suddenly felt a strike of anger as she thought about her father and had to bite her tongue in order not to accuse her mother of betraying him. She knew, of course, that her thoughts were completely unfair and uncalled for, for her mother was clearly happier now than she'd ever been during the last few years.

And even though Elena had never stopped believing that one day her family would be whole again, she finally came to realize that it just wasn't meant to be – at least not the way she still quite childishly hoped it would.

Upon her realization it seemed like all the fight was sucked right out of her and she finally reacted to her mother's embrace, slowly wrapping her arms around her and giving a light squeeze, forcing herself to believe that the tears staring to sting her eyes were out of happiness.

"I'm so happy for you mom"_, _she managed to whisper, the lie rolling off her tongue with relative ease as she quickly pulled away with a smile and excused herself as she hazily made her way to her room.

As the door shut with a light thud, Elena slowly eased herself onto the floor and leaned her back to the wooden door as the shock and horror finally took over and crippled her into a pathetic heap of sobs and tears.

Now, a year later, Elena found herself in a similar position in her room as she sat slouched on the floor and tried desperately to get a hold of the turmoil of emotions that threatened to cause yet another melt down.

Hilbert Ashford, her stepfather, had apparently had enough of her so-called school problems and decided that on the following week she was going to attend a boarding school in Switzerland unless she stopped being such a bother and started to act her age; in other words to learn some proper etiquette and become a lady, something she wasn't all that interested about. To his defense the man did come from a different background than her, but she still felt as though she was being forcefully guided – almost brainwashed – into becoming something she wasn't at heart.

Although their many differences, Elena still couldn't find herself hating the man; it was more like a mutual inability to understand the other, though unbeknown to her mother who seemed to believe that the two of them were on good terms with one another.

She was growing tired of acting like a happy family in order to keep her mother smiling when it was obvious to her that this fairytale was only meant for two people. Mr. Ashford's latest arrangement had made it clear as daylight; either she submitted to her new lifestyle or she could latch onto the crumbling pieces of the former somewhere else.

A sudden thought occurred to her as she roughly wiped away the last of her tears and focused her eyes on her bedside drawer and started to crawl towards it, slowly making her way to it and opening the single locked drawer. Reaching in, she pulled out a slightly crumbled white envelope, still sealed, its contents still a mystery. It was addressed to her, having been sent all the way from Japan over two months ago, hence her hesitation to open it. Without a doubt it was from her father, and it was the first and only letter she'd received from him during the eight years he'd been gone. To be honest she didn't know what to expect from it but her current situation pushed her to try her luck.

Carefully opening the envelope, she unfolded the piece of paper inside and began to read the surprisingly familiar handwriting, the content taking her by surprise and causing her to re-read the letter two more times.

'_Dear Elena, I imagine I might stir up some emotions by contacting you in such a sudden fashion, but I'm willing to risk it in order to say these few things. Not a day goes by without me thinking of you, and it saddens me when I can't see or talk to you. I've often thought about calling you, but I've realized that there's too much I'd like to say for just a single phone call. The years have gone by faster than I intended, and I apologize that I haven't been there for you. But, if you so choose to, it would truly warm my heart to hear from you.'_

Elena stared at the unfamiliar number written on the bottom of the paper for what felt like an hour as she considered her choices. She wondered why her father had chosen to contact her now after eight years of having the chance to. She'd pried information of her father out of her mother for the first few years after he'd left but upon receiving the same news time after time, she'd finally given up of hearing anything new and merely accepted that she no longer had a father figure in her life.

With her emotions starting to waver, she turned her attention back to the envelope that lay beside her on the floor. It had already been two months since he'd sent the letter; he'd probably given up on her answering by now. And even if she called him now, what could she say? What about time-difference; Japan was 9 hours ahead of England.

She snuck a quick glance at her alarm clock, noting it was barely two pm, making it only 11 pm if she were to call now. Turning back to the letter, she read through it one last time before making her choice. Picking up her cellphone, she quickly dialed the given number and rested the piece of electronics on her ear, holding her breath as she nervously waited for someone to pick up.

Her eyes had moved to stare at her clock for a lack of anything better to do, her call already gone on for nearly fifteen seconds without being answered. She was beginning to regret even trying to contact him when someone finally picked up the phone, the sudden action almost making her jump.

A single stiff and slightly reserved 'hello' was all the person had to give her as he waited for an answer.

Taking in a deep breath, Elena tried to calm her now rapidly beating heart as she opened her mouth and choked out her greeting.

"…Dad? It's Elena."


	2. Chapter 1

Two young flight attendants slowly pulled back the deep blue curtains that divided the passenger airplane between business and economy class, quietly glancing at the passengers on the other side, only to find most of them still asleep. Scanning through the few people fortunate enough to travel by business class, their eyes briefly set on a less than ordinary passenger; a lone, young girl. She was in her teens with long wavy dark brown hair and the most peculiar shade of blue eyes they'd ever seen, seeming almost more purple than blue. Like most of the other passengers, she too had fallen asleep during the long flight from England, not even stirring from her slumber although they'd hit some rough turbulence.

The women could probably count the number of times such a young passenger had traveled in business class with one hand, much less all alone. Either way, a passenger was always a passenger, and that was good enough for them. She'd hardly even required any service throughout the entire flight, unlike most of the other passengers, no doubt people of great importance and stature.

A huge TV-screen in the front on the plane displayed the route they'd taken so far, informing they'd reach their destination soon. The women pulled back the curtains all the way and turned on the lights, causing a few of the passengers to stir and groan in frustration, mumbling something beyond understandable as they slowly began to wake up. The flight attendants began circling around the cabin, gently shaking those who'd yet to wake up and informing they'd be landing soon.

"Excuse me miss but you'll have to wake up now. We're about to begin the preparations for landing so you'll need to put your seat in the up-right position," one of the women gently shook the girl awake, noticing that she seemed a bit disorientated at first.

"Oh. Already?" she yawned and rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands, lazily glancing at her window, struggling to push the window shade up in order to see outside.

The woman merely nodded before continuing to wake up the others, moving onto the economy class next.

The girl finally managed to push the shade aside and after adjusting to the bright sunlight that pored in through the small window, she took in the new scenery, a small hint of excitement and curiosity clouding up her head for the first few seconds.

She was slightly relived to see that everything looked, well, normal. The tall skyscrapers, the endless tarmac roads, the thousands of colorful cars, the green areas, the apartment flats… It was almost as if they hadn't left Europe at all. The thought caused a mirthless huff to escape her lips as she stared at the new yet familiar looking country down below.

"_Just like Europe, huh?_" she thought apathetically, her excitement and joy suddenly gone and replaced by a slight sense of melancholy, maybe even regret. She stared at the ground below, noticing how quickly they were descending, no doubt touching down in a matter of minutes. There was no turning back now, she'd missed that chance the moment she'd boarded the plane. This strange country was to be her home now.

The captain's microphone suddenly crackled unpleasantly and pulled her back from her thoughts just as he began to routinely welcome everyone to their destination.

"Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the whole crew I welcome you to Japan. We hope you had a nice flight and enjoy your stay. Thank you for flying with us."

/ / / / / / /

The young brown haired girl stood in front of a ridiculously large map of the airport, her luggage thrown very unceremoniously in a mountain beside her, her entire focus in the huge map in front of her, trying for what seemed like an hour to figure out where she even was, let alone tell which way was which. This was the moment she'd dreaded the most during her entire trip; maps. She just didn't understand them, not one bit. Her sense of direction had always been bad and this was sadly no exception. Of all the places to get lost, this was certainly the worst. An unfamiliar, gigantic airport packed with people too busy to even stop and help her with directions was definitely her living nightmare. A frustrated sigh escaped her mouth as she stared at the map with determination.

"_For heaven's sake Elena you're 16 years old, you can read a simple map!" _she thought furiously, only to feel her determination begin to disappear from the lack of progress. With a disappointed grunt she flopped next to her luggage and watched as yet another group of people pointedly ignored her as they quickly paced pass her, not even sparing a glance at her somewhat humiliating posture. She gave the map a dirty look before running a hand throw her hair as a way to vent out some of her frustration as she tried to calm down.

"_Who am I kidding? I couldn't even find my way out of a paper bag, much less the correct entrance of this place!_" she mentally sighed as she pulled out her cellphone from her handbag, re-opening it after the long flight. To her minor surprise the clock had already been synchronized to the current time of 11.45am, half an hour later than the plane's landing time had been. To her great annoyance and equal dread, no new messages or missed calls had turned up.

"_Well isn't that just lovely? Then again I guess I really didn't have any expectations of him calling in the first place…_" she thought mirthlessly as she cast her gaze to the floor in front of her, surprised to see a pair of black shoes a mere foot or so away. For a moment she just stared at them wondering whether her pathetic situation had actually caught someone's attention, dare she even hope stop to inquire about her state. Then again the person might just take the time to bask in her humiliation.

She was drawn between ignoring the person altogether or thanking him for the simple act when her silent battle was interrupted by a deep yet young male voice.

"Hey you," it rang almost demandingly before pausing for a fraction of a second, as if hesitating to continue, "you alright?"

The tone of his voice instantly made her raise her gaze from his shoes to his face, more importantly his eyes. A small gasp escaped her lips as sharp light brown eyes caught hers, the intensity behind them almost making her avert her gaze the moment she looked at him. He seemed to notice this however and he all but glared at her, as if daring her to look away. In the end she couldn't help but stare right back, cursing how her eyes were no doubt mirroring her every emotion so plainly for the young man to see.

"_What a terrifying gaze..._"

Throughout their staring contest her hazy brain somehow managed to register the deep red hair that framed the boy's sharp face, though she must have only noticed it because of the color. If what her glimpses of his outfit from prior were to be trusted, he was dressed rather ordinarily, wearing a pair of simple black pants and a brown hoodie. She only now realized that he'd been wearing the hood pulled firmly over his head, nearly hiding all of his red locks.

He suddenly cleared his throat, making her turn her attention back to his eyes, wondering how she'd ended up letting her eyes wander in the first place.

"So?" he quirked his brow in a way that somehow made chills go down her spine, his eyes never leaving hers. For a moment she was completely dumbfounded.

"What?" was all she could manage to blurt out as she thought about what he'd said. "_I feel like I'm being suffocated,_" she shivered mentally at the weight of his gaze.

A deep frown merged on his face as he sighed, no doubt out of frustration. "I asked if you're alright. You deaf or what?" he repeated impatiently, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants, somehow making his stance a little more intimidating.

"Yes, I'm alright," she quickly made to answer, taking a moment to breath in before she'd pass out due to lack of oxygen. Thinking this was possibly the only chance to ask for directions, she hesitantly continued her conversation with the stranger. "But, if you're not too busy, I would need some help. I'm supposed to meet my father at the fifth entrance but I'm hopeless with maps and can't make any sense of this," she admitted nervously, averting his eyes for a few seconds to give the map an accusing look. "I'd really appreciate it if you could even give me rough directions to that darn entrance," she went on before dropping her eyes. "Besides," she murmured gently, a smile starting to form on her face as she lifted her eyes once more, "you're the only one who's stopped to ask me what's wrong."

For a moment the young man looked somewhat stunned, his features becoming just a tad less sharper, though he recomposed himself almost immediately after. He slowly glanced around him, and after a moment he took the necessary steps forward and took a place in front of the map. A few seconds later he held up a finger and pointed at a spot on the map. Elena slowly rose from the floor and hesitantly stepped beside him, her eyes fixed on the spot his finger was pointing at.

"You see that small red dot there, that's were we're now," he said lazily, his finger moving to the right to point at a different spot, "and that's the fifth entrance. You'll get to it if you walk about a hundred meters down that corridor," he concluded and inclined to a nearby busy corridor.

"What? I was that close to it this whole time? Uh, I really am pathetic, aren't I?" she sighed, her cheeks beginning to blush out of her embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it, it's a big airport, people get disorientated," he replied quietly, his comment making her lips tug into a small smile. For a moment they just stood there in front of the map, both at a loss for words. The red haired teen seemed to notice something in the crowd of people as he whipped his head to the side before giving her an unsure look.

"Well, bye," was all he managed to say as he turned around and began walking away. Something seemed to click in her brain as she took a few steps after him and managed to move her arm towards his retreating form.

"Wait!" she called out and tugged lightly at his sleeve, causing the red head to tense up but turn never the less, his facial expression a mixture of caution and surprise, his eyes focused on his sleeve. She quickly let go and after a tense moment she managed to smile at him.

"Thank you for helping me today. You're really kind," she thanked him before she hastily picked up her luggage and started heading down the corridor he'd just shown her.

The boy could only stare at the swinging dark brown hair of the girl as he was left completely speechless by her words. His senses seemed to return to him just as he lost sight of the girl, a small smile tugging his lips.

"Yeah. Your welcome," he murmured almost to himself.

/ / / / / / /

In the end Elena had found the fifth entrance with ease but her moment of joy was short lived when she couldn't find her father anywhere. Jumping as high as she could with her heavy boots, she tried to see over the mass of people that were constantly exiting and entering the airport, having little luck as to pinpointing her father. She let out an exasperated sigh and sat atop of her luggage, leaning her face in between her fists.

"_I doubt I'd even recognize him anymore anyway,_" she mentally sighed, the thought causing another more saddening question to mind; would he recognize her, his own daughter? She honestly couldn't say, it'd been so long… "_Eight years to be exact._"

Her thoughts were interrupted a moment later when her phone suddenly started ringing, a now familiar number flashing on the display. Slightly relived, she answered it quickly, trying to get a word in before her father could, though having little luck in doing so. Before she could even open her mouth to give him a piece of her mind his voice already demanded her to listen, leaving no room for arguments.

"Elena! Your flight landed earlier than I expected. Have you already gotten your luggage? I've got a busy schedule today you know, I hope you had the common sense to ask for directions, I can't spend all morning looking for you. Are you close to our meeting spot?"

Elena rolled her eyes at his comments, trying not to take them too seriously. She knew her father was indeed a very busy man and had barely been able to squeeze time for picking her up from the airport into his day, much less if he'd had to wait for her. Still, the fact was that she was here and he wasn't.

"Yeah I'm here, believe it or not. Where are you?"

"Sorry, work. I'm almost there, see you soon!" he responded quickly and promptly ended the call, leaving Elena gaping at the phone. Well that was strange and somehow useless.

With a sigh she stuck her phone back into her handbag and focused on the electronically operating sliding glass doors that was the fifth entrance, trying her hardest not to miss her father whether he actually did ever come to pick her up. She didn't have to wait long before a distantly familiar man walked through those very doors, his eyes searching for her and upon finding her, he quickly waved his hand before walking over to her.

Ryouichi Yuugure was a hardy man of average height with broad shoulders and a handsome face, though the years and stress had certainly taken its toll on him. Like Elena, he too had the same shade of hair color, though his hair was rougher in texture and the style he wore it had always someway reminded her of a run-over animal; all over the place, to be subtle. He still wore neat suits just like before, now wearing a black suit and grayish trench coat, not to forget the black shoes she swore she could see herself from. Yes, Ryouichi Yuugure, her father, was quite the man, a fact that many passersby had picked up on.

He honestly hadn't changed that much during the last eight years, aside from a few grey hairs she almost got the feeling like he'd never left.

"Hey dad, nice to s-," was all she had time to say before she found herself in her father's warm embrace, a surprisingly tender act from the man who'd used to squeeze and swing her around like there was no tomorrow. Then again it was probably for the best not to remind him about it; knowing him he'd take the chance to embarrass her in public. "_Just like before,_" she sighed mentally.

Despite her thoughts, she too wrapped her hands around his much larger frame and hugged him for eight years worth of time. She almost felt like crying if it hadn't been for the nosy passersby that were beginning to ruin the moment for her. She began to withdraw from the embrace but her father's arms still held her firmly, not wanting to let go. She thought about saying something witty until her father spoke, the tone of his voice silencing her at once.

"You have no idea, Elena. All these years. After everything… And now you're here, my darling daughter," he seemed to have a hard time voicing out his thoughts, his voice unusually thick, and she gave him a short hug as a way to show her support. If he honestly broke into tears with this many people watching she swore she'd board the next plane back to England.

"I've missed you too da-," her sentence was cut short by the sound of a ringing cellphone and she instantly found herself free from her clingy father who was already on the phone with someone. "_Yeah, it's like nothing's changed…_"

She sighed and sat back on her luggage and waited for the call to end. Her father spoke too low and quick for her to make any sense what he was saying and she could only guess it had something to do with his business. To her great surprise the call lasted mere seconds before her father snapped his phone shut and turned his attention back to her, grabbing her hand without as much as a warning and began dragging her with him to the exit.

Her first reaction was obviously to protest as she tried to stop, planting her feet firmly on the ground as she hesitantly tried to pry her arm out of his grip.

"Dad what're you doing? You can't just-."

"Sorry, no time for explanations. I've got a car waiting for us in the front. It's about time we get home."

"That's nice and all but what about my lug-."

"The boys already took care of that. Quickly now, we've got a tight schedule to keep to."

"Wait just a second! What boys?" she finally managed to get a few complete sentences said, turning around to find her luggage indeed, gone. "What the…?"

She vaguely registered being lead outside and two dark figures moving past her and her father mere fractions of a second after, causing her to jump a bit. The dark figures turned out to be two bulky black suited men carrying what was apparently her luggage. She stared at them for a moment, complete dumbfounded. Talk about service. They quickly opened the trunk of a waiting black car, all but throwing her bags in, much to her horror. She struggled against her father's iron grip as she gave the two men a pointed look.

"What's wrong with you two? You just don't throw a woman's luggage around like a sack of potatoes! For the love of god be careful with those!" she tried her best to get through to the two large men, managing to catch the other's attention for a split second.

"The young mistress's luggage is in capable hands," he stated almost automatically before hoisting the last of her bags into the trunk, slamming it shut with more force than necessary.

She was about to protest again but didn't get the chance to as her father was already pushing her into the back of the car, the doors closing immediately after he'd gotten in. She heard another door open and by the time it shut close with a secure 'bang' they were already moving, and with speeds definitely greater than any airport should allow. They were in a hurry, no doubt about that. Still, the whole situation seemed a bit odd to her.

A semi-awkward state of silence settled between them, and for the longest time the only thing she could hear was the running of the car's motor and their breathing. She slowly began growing restless from the lack of conversation, trying her best to think of good, normal topics to discuss about. It'd been so long since she'd last spoken with him; surely they had something to talk about after eight years?

With no signs of her father initiating any sort of conversation, she thought of a topic that would surely get him talking; work.

"So, I gather that the family business is doing well," she said as casually as possible whilst gazing through the blackened windows of the car, the scenery seemingly ever-changing.

She'd never really been all that interested in what her father did as a living, much less the family business back in his native land, a topic that they never really discussed about. She'd once asked about it briefly from her mother, curiosity overwhelming her at the time, but all that her mother had to tell her about it was that it was one of those businesses with a long and colorful history. She hadn't asked about it after that. Now, though, it seemed like her only foolproof way to crush the invisible ice slowly forming between them.

Her father glanced at her skeptically, not buying her so-called interest in his work all of a sudden. She merely kept her eyes on the window, though she wasn't really paying attention to the passing scenery anymore.

"Eight years and the first thing you want to talk about is the family business. Honestly Elena, you could've picked any topic in the world and we would've had a thorough conversation about it, be it school, your favorite band or for all I care peaches," he stated with a sigh before returning to her choice of topic. "But seeing as you're in dire need of knowing, yes, the business is doing well, thank you for asking. It's growing slowly but surely to the same scale as it was when father, your grandfather, was in charge. I'm sure that in a few years time we'll have the largest business in all of Kanto and can probably start to plan spreading to other regions as well."

She listened closely to what her father had to say, even though she really didn't care for the topic. Upon hearing about her grandfather, though, her interest spiked.

"How is he? Grandfather, I mean," she asked hesitantly, not wanting to seem too nosy.

"Hm, that old man? He'll probably outlive all of us," her father replied casually, the corners of his lips tugging ever so slightly before turning serious. "Honestly, after that stroke he had eight years ago, he's been as healthy as can be, not even a cold. It's probably for the best considering his condition; I doubt he'd be able to survive another stroke. He's on doctor's orders to take things easy but he's frustratingly stubborn and demands to be informed about every little thing that goes on in the company," he explained with a tired sigh, his eyes fixed on something outside.

She stayed quiet, not knowing what to say. She'd never met her paternal grandfather but from what she'd heard about him from her mother, the man was very conservative, strict and fixed on stature. He hadn't been all that keen about her parents' relationship and had never expressed any desire to meet his grandchild. To be completely honest, Elena was rather terrified about meeting him.

Silence once again settled between father and daughter as they waited for the other to say something.

"…Will I meet him?" she finally asked quietly, having thought how to voice out her question. 'Do I have to meet him?' was what she'd wanted to ask but obviously couldn't.

Her father looked at her for a moment before turning his gaze back to the window. "I can't say. If he finds it necessary to meet you then perhaps."

She nodded her head slowly, mentally letting out a relieved sigh.

"But enough about things here, the real topic should be you Elena. Tell me, how've you been doing? How did you do in school?" her father lightly clapped his hands together and focused his attention on his daughter.

"I'm good, thanks for asking," she answered automatically, forcing a smile on her face. "School was, well, a little difficult, but I managed nevertheless. In the end I got okay grades, considering everything."

During the last eight years or so, Elena and her mother had ended up moving almost twice a year due to her mother's work, hence making it difficult for Elena to attend school normally. With the constant changes, Elena had found it harder and harder to keep up with her grade, and making new friends seemed almost pointless because she knew she'd have to move eventually. After her mother re-married, Mr. Ashford had decided to hire a private tutor for Elena, thus homeschooling her through her last year of junior high; a decision that Elena was actually grateful for.

"That's wonderful Elena! Speaking of school, I've taken the liberty to enroll you to the best high school this region has to offer, you start tomorrow. We're expecting you to do well so don't disappoint us, ey?" he stated with a serious face, much to her horror.

She hadn't even thought about attending high school, much less some elite place. How in the world had she even gotten in with her grades?

"What school exactly?" she inquired purely to keep the conversation going.

"Ouran Academy, it's a prestigious private school close by. You should be grateful that I got you into that school; only children of families with enough stature and/or money are admitted in, not to mention in the middle of a school year."

Elena stared wide-eyed at her father. Had she heard correctly? Private? Stature? Money? "_What the hell?!_" And to make matters worse she already started tomorrow! Well, at least now she knew that her father had probably bribed the school's chairman into accepting her in. "_Isn't that lovely...?_"

But before she even had the chance to state her opinion on the matter, the car suddenly came to a stop and within seconds the door on her father's side was opened. He once again grabbed her by the arm as he led the way, all but dragging her out of the car, this time however letting go after they'd gotten out, much to her satisfaction. She was done being dragged alone like some little kid; she was sixteen for crying out loud, she could walk on her own!

The sound of the trunk opening caught her attention and she turned to face the two black suited men that were about to manhandle her poor luggage once again. Without much thought she walked up to them and picked up one of her lighter bags.

"Thanks for the help but I can carry my own things. They're not that heavy so I'll manage," she stated quickly and smiled nervously at them, her words causing the men to stop unloading her luggage and give her an incredulous look. She quirked an eyebrow, "What?"

"The young mistress doesn't need to worry about her luggage, it'll be taken care of."

"No really, it's fi-," was all she managed to word out when she felt a hand wrap around her arm and she was suddenly yanked beside her father who was leading them towards a pair of large wooden doors. "What the…? Dad I can walk on my own, I'm not a little kid anymore," she murmured, trying ever so gently to loosen her father's grip on her arm.

Her father didn't even spare a glance at her as he continued walking her to the doors, letting go when they'd reached them. "Then start acting like one, Elena. And let the boys do their jobs, they're more capable than you think," he replied casually, giving her a quick, softer look. "I apologize, I still seem to see you as the little eight year old who always got lost whether she wasn't within arm's reach," he smirked tenderly, clearly remembering something no doubt embarrassing from the past.

In a way she understood him; the last time he'd interacted with her she'd been so young and vulnerable, unable to take care of herself even if she'd wanted to. She didn't know how much experience he even had dealing with teenagers, much less his own daughter who suddenly wasn't the little child he remembered anymore. It must've been rather awkward and saddening. A small smile tugged on the edge of her lips. "It's alright dad."

Her eyes started to wander after that, focusing on the tall wooden fence and doors that they stood in front of. The fence seemed to reach the sky and obviously surrounded a huge piece of property inside it. A single wooden plate hung above the equally massive doors, the kanjis for "Yuugure" written on it in neat handwriting.

"_The family name,_" she registered quietly in the privacy of her mind just as the wooden double doors swung open, revealing a huge, traditional house and a neat but somewhat empty courtyard. Somehow the sight didn't really surprise her.

Her father and the two men in black were already halfway through the courtyard before she followed them, taking deliberate, almost testing steps through the yard, as if expecting something to go off if she wasn't careful. She vaguely registered the wooden doors being pushed back into place, and she couldn't help but feel like a caged animal as she quickened her pace to reach her father.

"So, what do you think? I know it's not England or Europe but hey, it's home," he inquired as they were about to reach the porch, his question making her shrug at first. What could she say?

"It's…different. So big," she replied hesitantly, trying to voice out her thoughts as she took one last quick look at the front yard. "It's really bare. Needs some trees."

She heard her father chuckle lightly at her comments as they climbed up the few steps onto the porch, taking off her shoes after noticing her father and the two men escorting them do so. A pair of sliding doors effortlessly slid opened and she followed her father inside, surprised to see the room they'd entered to be half full of people, more accurately men. They were all down on their knees, and after seeing them enter they'd all bowed their heads.

"Welcome back master!" they greeted simultaneously, an air of respect and devotion radiating from them as they merely knelt there, not even moving a muscle.

She kept her eyes on them, her instinct telling her not to look away. She heard her father grunt and at once all of the men raised their heads, eyes focusing on her father. She gasped lightly, mentally almost screaming at how intimidating they all looked, and it took everything in her not to turn around and run. Scars, bruises, fresh wounds, tattoos, even missing body parts! Just who were these people?!

She felt her father's arm snake around her shoulders, pulling her firmly against his side as he gave the men in front of them a surprisingly menacing glare.

"Listen up! This is my daughter Elena and as of today she will be staying with us. You are to treat her with utmost respect and make her feel at home. Understood?" he barked at them, his strict, forewarning tone of voice leaving no room for arguments.

She was amazed at how he had the guts to even think about ordering these men around. She silently thanked whatever power her father had over them; no doubt money. "_Lots and lots of money,_" she concluded as she was, to her horror, suddenly pushed forward, ending up standing a mere foot away from the first row of what she assumed to be a quite accurate definition of an ugly way to die. She immediately whipped her head around, her eyes fixed on the man who'd thrown her to the lions, confused of the sudden betrayal.

Her father merely stared at her as if waiting for her to do something. She hesitantly turned back around to face the kneeling rows of death, noticing that all eyes were on her, much to her great, great displeasure. She absolutely hated being the center of attention.

"_Of course dad wouldn't know anything about that,_" she thought bitterly, mentally making a note to share this particular piece of information with him as soon as possible. As for now, though, it seemed there was no avoiding the inevitable.

With a calm intake of air, she put on her sweetest smile and tried to look confident, straightening out her posture as she looked at some random spot just over the men's heads and properly introduced herself. "It's nice to meet you all, I'm Elena."

There was a single moment's silence within the room, a moment she found she dare not even breathe, let alone blink. It felt like an eternity of simply waiting for anything to happen, before finally there was the indisputable noise of something banging against the floor, and upon looking down, she was surprised to see all of the men bowing there heads, some even having carelessly hit their foreheads on the wooden floor.

"We're honored to meet the young mistress. Welcome home, lady Elena!" they greeted – no, shouted – simultaneously and she couldn't help but jump a bit from the sheer intensity behind it, suddenly feeling rather dumbfounded.

"_Lady? What am I, thirty? Uh, why couldn't dad hire normal people to do… whatever these guys do? This whole thing is starting to freak me out…_"

She glanced at her father, her eyes seeking and holding his gaze, silently begging him to help her. A feint smirk appeared on his lips as he quickly nodded to her before letting a more serious expression settle on his face, clearing his throat as he turned to look at the still kneeling men, whom upon hearing his voice all raised their heads to show they were listening.

"It should go without saying that if anything should happen to her the person responsible for it will answer directly to me," he spoke casually with a deliberate pause in the middle of his sentence as he let the obvious threat linger in the air, gently pulling Elena to his side as he thoroughly made sure that no one in the room had misheard him, eyeing at the men just long enough for the words to sink in. "Show her around the house, explain all of the rules and tend to her needs. I expect her to be fully settled in by the time I get back."

With that, he turned on his heals and began walking to the door, much to Elena's horror.

"H-hey! Stop! Where're you going?" she tried to get answers out of him, turning around to face him. She knew he was busy but couldn't his work really wait five more minutes? Was he honestly about to leave her in an unfamiliar house with a few dozen equally unfamiliar men?

"_A few dozen freakishly scary men..._"

"I'm sorry Elena but I can't stay longer, I'm all ready late as it is. There are plenty of people here to show you around so there's no need for me to linger around. I'll be back late so I expect you to be asleep by the time I get back, you do have school tomorrow in case you forgot," he reminded her, giving her a stern look.

"What? So you're not coming home for dinner then?" she more so acquiesced him than inquired, her eyes mirroring her disappointment. "You know a family that dines together, stays together."

A ghost of a smile tugged the edge of her father's lips as he gave her an apologetic look. "Your mother was right about that one, wasn't she?" he murmured barely audible, his voice so low that if she hadn't been standing so close to him she wouldn't have heard it. A hand came up to cup her cheek for a brief moment before returning back to its original place. "You look so much like her, you know, Elena?"

She nodded her head quickly, trying to brush off the comment. Of course she knew she looked a lot like her mother, was it that surprising? She wished people would stop reminding her…

"I'm off," she suddenly heard her father say, the door already closing before she had time to react.

"Yeah, bye," she murmured under her breath and turned around, noticing that nearly all of the men had left the room, leaving only two younger men with her. They were standing a few feet away from her, easily towering over her. After a moment of silence the two young men glanced at each other and nodded, turning back to her.

"Welcome to Japan, young mistress. Your father asked us to show you to your room as well as around the house. You may call me Kemuri," the first one introduced himself, bowing his head in respect and speaking in a calm manner.

He was wearing a long and heavy trench coat, the color reminding her of ash and smoke. His sand colored t-shirt and black pants gave a nice contrast to the dark grey coat, and she especially gave him credit for his black boots. He had a few belts hanging loosely around his waist, and after a moment she realized that he was armed, carrying two guns. She wondered if they were real or just some kind of twisted accessory. She found herself hoping for the later.

He raised his head and locked eyes with her, giving her a good look at his face. He had ash grey eyes, albeit hard to spot behind his black hair that he'd tied into a tight ponytail, neglecting to do anything about his overgrown bangs, though. He was clearly the older of the two, though he couldn't have been more than twenty-five.

When he was finished, the boy next to him immediately bowed his head and introduced himself.

"It's an honor to meet you lady Elena. I'm Kohaku, at your service," he said head still bowed.

The boy was dressed in a black t-shirt with a print of dark blue shark jaws and grey pants. He was about a good head taller than she was and he had amber colored hair and eyes. His hair seemed to have grown out of its original style – a trend that most of the men from earlier seemed to favor - and he kept it in control with a grey bandana. His left ear was pierced in random places, having five gold rings in total. Much to her relief, Kohaku wasn't armed, or at least he had the decency to not advertise about it, keeping it merely to his own knowledge. He must've been five or so years younger than Kemuri, most likely even around her age. For some reason she found it nice to know there were others close to her age around, even if they were a little, well, intimidating.

She assessed the two for a moment before smiling nervously, feeling a little embarrassed for some reason. Why wasn't she any good with people?

"I wouldn't go as far as to say it's an honor to meet me but nevertheless, thank you. It's nice to meet you two as well. To be honest I was beginning to worry there wasn't anyone about my age around to talk to," she admitted, shifting her weight from one leg to the other, trying not to seem overly nervous.

If either Kemuri or Kohaku noticed her insecurity they were kind enough not to show it, preferring to merely nod at what she had to say.

"Yes, I suspect the master chose us for a reason; we are two of the younger members as far as I know," Kemuri spoke, his voice as smooth and calm as before. "We're twenty-two and nineteen years old, that would've been your next question I gather?" he answered before Elena had even managed to open her mouth, much to her astonishment.

"Oh. Right," she replied slowly before remembering another question she'd meant to ask him. "Members of what exactly? Were all of those other men from before members as well?"

This time it was Kohaku that answered, though it seemed like Kemuri would've preferred to continue, giving the younger man a slightly pointed look. "The syndicate of course, what else? Didn't you see the sign on the gate?" he asked sounding a little taken aback as if the answer was obvious. "Everyone in the house is a member, how could they not? I mean, we're one of the largest groups arou-."

"Kohaku, stop babbling. I got the impression that's a topic master Ryouichi wants to discuss with her about," Kemuri interrupted hastily before turning his attention to Elena. "I'm sure the young mistress would like to see her room as soon as possible."

"Um, yeah, sure," she answered hesitantly, somehow getting the feeling that she was steered away from the last topic. She would just have to ask about it from her father. "You know you can call me by my first name, I don't mind. That whole 'young mistress' and 'lady' thing is just… weird. It makes me feel like an old woman."

The two young men looked astonished for a moment before all but bursting into laughter, although muffling them quickly. Kohaku was seeming to have a hard time keeping a fairly straight face while Kemuri was a little more discreet, recovering quickly from his previous state, merely raising an eyebrow at her as he recalled her words.

"I'm terribly sorry but that's not for us to decide. It wouldn't do calling the lady of the house so informally as if she were one of her father's men. I hope you understand, young mistress," he explained calmly, a small smirk appearing on his face before continuing, "and trust me when I say this, but you shouldn't worry about feeling any older than you are. I'm sure I speak for all of us, isn't that right, Kohaku?" he gave the younger man a pointed stare as if daring him to disagree.

Kohaku immediately nodded his head in agreement, finally having resumed a straight face. "Yeah no doubt about it! I mean if you feel old then what does that make Kemuri, ancient?" he joked half-heartedly, trying to lighten the mood, though Elena could swear that the atmosphere only got heavier after his later comment.

She smiled nervously at the two, suddenly remembering what they were supposed to be doing. She glanced around the large room, her eyes searching for her luggage. She could've sworn she'd seen it being left by the door, yet she couldn't seem to spot it.

"Hey guys, you wouldn't have happened to see where those two big guys in black went? I think they took my luggage, again," she asked with a tired sigh, not really wanting to know how they were abusing it this time.

"Eh, those two? They're probably with the boss; must've had someone take your things to your room when they left," Kohaku stated and beckoned to one of the corridors behind him with his thumb. "Speaking of your room, we should probably finally show it to you. You must be anxious to get settled in, huh?" he more stated than asked, though both him and Kemuri waited for her to answer anyway.

She felt a genuine smile form on her lips as she heard the words 'your room', and she eagerly bobbed her head in agreement. "Yeah, that'd be awesome," she replied gratefully and soon found herself inside her new room.

She vaguely registered it being near the west wing of the house but only because Kemuri had pointed out that she'd have a nice view of the sun setting. She hadn't expected the house to be nearly as big as it'd seemed during her short trip from the vestibule to her room; having lost all sense of direction after the first few corners. At this rate she'd need a guide or map to find her way out of the house.

"_Huge surprise there,_" she thought mirthlessly, once again cursing her bad sense of direction.

Kemuri and Kohaku stood by her door for the first few moments before they excused themselves, though not before reminding her that she only needed to call out and someone would come to her aid. Dinner would be apparently brought to her room later in the evening.

To her joy her luggage was piled up neatly in the middle of her room, seemingly well looked after, much to her relief. Unpacking could wait for a while though, as she gently lowered herself onto her bed, flopping rather ungracefully on her back as soon as she'd sat down, suddenly feeling the jetlag kick in. With more difficultly than it should have taken her, she managed to glance at the alarm clock on her bedside table, sighing heavily as she noticed it was barely even past one.

"_I should probably take a nap or something,_" she thought lazily as she stared emptily at her ceiling, the light toning of it beginning to give her a headache. That or it was just her jetlag…

Sighing, she slowly pulled herself into a sitting position, figuring a nap would only bother her later when she really should have slept. She stared at her awaiting bags, the though of unpacking them suddenly feeling a little scary. Somehow, unpacking felt final. She'd have to accept her situation and embrace her new life, because once her bags were unpacked, it would be much harder to pack them again. England wasn't an option for her anymore.

Suddenly feeling rather lonely, she moved to pull her lightest bag on her bed, slowly opening the zipper as she pulled out a pocket sized picture frame, her eyes searching for any scratches or shattering on the glass. Finding none, she let out a sigh of relief and gently placed the picture beside her bedside table, her eyes resting on the image of her smiling mother.

"_Mom…_"

* * *

**A/N: **Well, I hope you liked the first chapter! Once again it would be nice to get some opinions about it :) Until next time!


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: **I finally found the time to finish this chapter. Thank you all for your patience! I'm also extremely happy about all of the new story alerts and favs, not to mention reviews! Thank you all so much for the support; it really means a lot!

Ritsu need more love, just saying :)

* * *

That night Elena could barely get any sleep, dozing off for what seemed to be mere minutes before she was pulled back into consciousness. Whether the reason for her lack of sleep was due to the time difference between England and Japan or the nervousness and anticipation she felt for the coming day, she couldn't be sure; all she knew was that it was beginning to frustrate her beyond her normally high tolerance. Lying tired in bed yet unable to fall asleep was one of those things her body didn't take lightly and she already dreaded the following day; she'd be more zombie than human by lunchtime.

_Well isn't that going to be lovely. I'll definitely make an impression, that's for sure…_

Sighing in irritation, she slowly shifted in her bed, trying to find a more comfortable position, hoping it would coax her into slumber. After a moment of constantly altering the position of her arms, body and legs Elena finally gave up and promptly sat up, leaning her back against the cool wall her bed was set up against.

_Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to sleep during the flight after all._

After having unpacked her luggage, Elena had been escorted to the showering area to freshen up; a thing she'd been looking forward to. The warm shower had done miracles to her slightly sore muscles and that along with the more than generous dinner she'd been served later that evening had left her feeling pleasantly sleepy. It hadn't lasted very long though, due to all the unfamiliar noises her mind relentlessly locked on listening to no matter how Elena tried to zone out. The last straw must've been when her father had returned and for the next fifteen minutes or so she could hear nothing but hurried footsteps and shouting. It had been two in the morning.

But, seeing as she wasn't all that initiative when it came to demanding silence from a dozen huge – not to mention positively mean looking – men, she could do nothing but adapt or suffer from permanent lack of sleep. That or she could muster up her courage, latch onto it with a death grip and give those goons a piece of her mind.

_Yeah, I should probably invest in earplugs or something…_

With a lack of anything better to do, Elena focused on listening to the sounds of the night, those being mainly crickets and the occasional footsteps that echoed lightly throughout the hallways of the house. At first she'd thought that someone else was having trouble sleeping but when she noticed a particular pattern on the footfalls she came to the conclusion that the person wandering the hallways had to be a guard of some sort, passing her room every fifteen to twenty minutes, it seemed.

After the third time she heard the person pass by she decided it was way too late for her to get a decent night's rest, slowly edging herself off of her bed and making her way to her door, carefully tiptoeing across the room as she parted the traditional fusuma to take a look into the dark hallway. Seeing no one, a sudden idea popped into her mind, one that was clearly driven on by her tired and slightly anxious state of mind; a midnight walk - in almost complete darkness - through a house she wasn't familiar with at all.

_Yeah, sounds like a great idea…_

She must've been out of her mind as she quietly made her way back to her bed and grabbed her dressing gown before heading back to the door, parting it just enough to fit through from. With restrained movements, she slid the fusuma back to its original place and after a moment of trying to memorize how the outer exterior of her room looked like, she parted the door just a tad as a sign whether she'd forget what room was hers.

Feeling oddly confident and curious, she quietly set off in the opposite direction than the person patrolling the house, heading what she assumed to be away from the entrance and courtyard. She decided to try her luck and headed towards the showering area she'd been escorted to earlier that day, tiptoeing through the wooden hallways ever so slightly and making turns that became more random and unsure with every step she took. Her previous sense of confidence was nothing short of gone as she realized that somewhere along her venturing she'd made a wrong, or more likely lots of wrong turns, resulting into her less than surprising state; helplessly lost. She mentally battered herself for practically forcing the situation upon her; honestly, it was inevitable that she'd get lost.

She could hear abrupt snores and grunts in the otherwise dead silent hall, the sounds echoing off the walls in a way that made it hard to tell what direction they were coming from, and upon remembering some of the frightening looking men her father employed, she preferred not to disturb their rest. She might end up beat up into a bloody pulp or worse.

Barely even able to breathe normally, she inched herself back towards the corner she'd just passed, every little creak in the floorboards sending her more and more on high alert as she stopped dead in her tracks and just listened. When no one emerged from the surrounding rooms she took the next step, then the next, until she was finally back around the corner. With her heart beating loudly enough to be audibly heard, she continued her way through the corridors, this time in a more hurried fashion. Without noticing she'd quickly replaced her previous tiptoeing with heavier and faster footfalls, barely being able to control her actions as she tried to find her way back to her room. She could feel her panic start to drive her on as she passed turn after turn, the hallways looking exactly the same no matter where she looked. She tried to spot the slightly parted fusuma she'd left but with no luck.

_Why on earth did I ever leave that room in the first place? God, I'll never find it!_

A creak in the floorboards pulled her back from her growing panic bubble as she froze in an instant, listening closely to her surroundings, not even daring as much to breath. She was almost sure she could hear someone around the next corner, but whether or not it was just her imagination, she couldn't tell. The hallways beyond that corner were, however, her only possibility in finding her room so after a moment to take a breath, she slowly began inching towards the turn, carefully peaking around it, though she couldn't see anything due to the lack of light.

She'd just let out a shaky, relieved breath when she suddenly bumped into something warm and firm, instantly making her jump and want to scream had she had any air in her lungs. She barely managed a small squeal as she felt a pair of hands the size of large plates forcefully wrap themselves around her arms and holding her firmly in place despite her struggling. The person easily pulled her with him as he walked up to a near by window and parted the shades, allowing just enough light to pour into the hallway to be able to distinguish one's face.

All Elena could do was stare at the man keeping her captive. He was tall and muscular, towering over her by more than two heads, his face and body rough and angular as if he'd been cut out of stone. She assumed him to be well into his forties judging by the wrinkles, but what really gave away his age had to be his eyes, pitch black and intense, yet growing tired from all his years. Dressed in a simple black t-shirt and dark jeans, Elena's eyes quickly caught the sight of a gun tucked in his pocket as it flashed when the light from the window shined on it and she found herself feeling suddenly very afraid, instantly trying to pull away once more, though helplessly frozen in place.

The whole incident couldn't have taken longer than five seconds but for Elena it felt like a lifetime as she merely stared at the strange man in silent fear, unable to even make the smallest noise. The man's eyes enlarged slightly and his grip quickly loosened around her arms as he let go of her completely, taking a step or two back in order to bow his head.

"I'm terribly sorry lady Elena, I didn't know you were up this late," he apologized swiftly, rising his head to take another look at her. "What are you doing wandering the hallways at this hour? The master said you have school tomorrow and needed your rest."

"Well, um…" Elena began nervously, finding it hard to get words out of her mouth, still feeling vary of the unfamiliar man. "I just couldn't get any sleep and I grew frustrated. I thought that a glass of water might help so I decided to go get one. I got lost, though."

The man gave her a slightly incredulous look and scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, I figured it might be something like that. From what I understood from the boys, you don't seem to be the type of person who requires others to tend to your every need. I must admit that's an honorable quality to have but for the time being it would probably be best that you get used to having the guys take care of you." He shifted his position slightly and motioned her to follow as he turned around and began leading her. "Come young mistress, I'll escort you back to your room and have someone bring you some water if you're still thirsty."

Elena hesitantly followed him, suddenly feeling slightly guilty about having him have to guild her back. She also felt slightly awkward by the titles the man was addressing her by but she wisely held her tongue on the matter.

"I'm sorry, I guess I'm just not used to having others do anything for me. I hate to be a bother," she confessed after a moment of silence between them, feeling the need to apologize.

The man turned to glance at her, a smile forming on his face. "You're far from a bother lady Elena, rest assured. The boys will be happy to assist you in any way they can," he stated very bluntly, his comment almost making Elena stumble in her own feet. "I'm Tarou, by the way. I'm in charge of most of the boys around," he introduced himself just as they came to her room, stopping by her door.

"Oh. So are you a dorm supervisor or something?" Elena inquired, her reply somewhat lagging as she tried to think of a good term for what she had in mind.

Tarou merely smirked in a humorous manner as he slid open the fusuma to her room. "Not exactly. You could think of me as a spokesperson for all of the boys that live here. I'm the link between them and master Ryouichi. It's also my duty to keep them in line and make sure that everyone's doing alright," he explained as he motioned her to enter her room. "If you're still thirsty I'll go get someone to bring you a glass of water."

Elena entered her room hastily before turning around to face the huge man, smiling nervously as she made to shut the door. "No, it's fine, I'm not that thirsty anymore. Thank you for helping me find the way back to my room; to be honest I'm terrible with directions and I'd probably never have found back by myself."

"That's what I'm here for young mistress. Hopefully you'll have a pleasant rest of the night," Tarou replied and turned to leave, heading back to his rounds.

Elena quickly slid the fusuma shut and made her way to her bed, gratefully slipping back under the covers, trying to will sleep to overtake her still restless mind. Once again she found herself lying awake in her new bed, eyes staring at the ceiling in tired frustration. She had to find a way to calm down enough to get at least a few hours of sleep.

Scanning her room, her eyes locked on to a fusuma across her room, the traditional door leading to what she guessed to be the backyard. With sleep still avoiding her, she decided to confirm her assumption and headed for the fusuma, slowly sliding it open. A surprisingly lush and well-kept garden beheld her eyes as she slowly shifted her gaze from one end to the other, carefully taking in what she could make out of the semi-traditional Japanese garden that almost seemed to bathe in the moonlight.

Trees stood mightily in place all around the garden, seeming almost randomly planted as they were scattered here and there, most of them being basic deciduous trees and the rest various fruit-baring trees. Well-used paths snaked through the otherwise grassy earth, leading towards the trees or past some other vegetation with little stones lining the edges. She could only assume that there was also a pond somewhere close by, the distinctive sound of rippling water softly echoing through the night.

There was an almost tangible air of tranquility surrounding the garden and it soon lulled her restless mind into a calm state, her eyelids feeling heavier by the minute as she stood there leaning onto her door and just listened to the sounds of the night.

She lost track of time after the first five minutes, having no clue what time it was when she finally slid the fusuma shut and made her way back to her bed, happily cuddling into the covers as sleep finally claimed her, pulling her into a dreamless slumber.

/ / / / / / /

The following morning came all too quickly as Elena was suddenly woken up - once again - by the sound of hurried footsteps and occasional shouts as men all but raced past her room, mish mashed silhouettes showing through the thin paper that made up the walls of her room. She almost felt like crying as she checked the time on her alarm clock, horrified to see that it was barely past six in the morning. The sun, having already risen, was somehow shining through the wall separating her room from the garden, making it nearly impossible to fall asleep anymore. Mumbling curses, Elena slowly pulled herself off of her bed and stretched her arms in a tired fashion, not looking forward to the coming day. She hadn't attended a proper school in quite some time and the thought of meeting new people literally terrified her, especially since she was transferring in the middle of the year. All she could hope for was that she was quickly accepted by the rest of the students and wouldn't be bothered all that much. She had no clue as to how long she was going to stay with her father but in the end it really didn't matter; be it a month or two, a year or more, creating and maintaining new relationships wasn't her top priority at the moment.

Already feeling her stomach start to tighten with anticipation, Elena forcefully pushed herself off of her bed and made her way towards her dresser, picking out the first articles of clothing she could get her hands on, them being a light blue, nicely fitting women's dress-shirt and a pair of dark blue skinny jeans. She knew her choice of clothing wouldn't be worn for more than a few hours at tops since the school had their own school uniform, but seeing as she still lacked one, she didn't see any harm in wearing what she felt like. Besides, it wasn't like she could walk around in only her underwear until she got a uniform.

After getting dressed, she proceeded with her usual morning rituals, brushing her hair as thoroughly as she could, deciding to let it stay down for today as she quickly applied a bit of mascara and eyeliner to finish her look. She lingered around in her room for a while until boredom and hunger got her to her feet, tentatively making her way towards the still unfamiliar hallways she had to navigate through to get to the kitchen. With nothing else to go on, she relied on her nose, trying to make out where the various smells of food were coming from. She hadn't even gotten past the first corner when suddenly Kemuri was by her side, gently grabbing her by the shoulder, and it took everything she had not to scream and jump through the roof out of shock.

"Good god don't do that, you almost gave me a heart-attack!" she exclaimed as she tried to steady her racing heartbeat, deciding to ignore the small smirk that was forming on the man's face. "A simple 'hey' or 'morning' would've been enough to get my attention, you know?" she mumbled mainly to herself, though she assumed the young man must've heard her because of his close proximity. Either way, it didn't really matter to her.

"I apologize young mistress," Kemuri began amicably, bowing slightly before rising back to his full height. "To my defense, I did greet you just as you emerged from your room but you didn't seem to hear me. I was sent to escort you to breakfast," he explained with a blank face.

"Oh," was all she could reply as she felt a slight blush creep onto her cheeks, a little embarrassed that she had been so spaced out. She blamed it on her lack of sleep. Trying to hold onto what little dignity she had left, she turned to face him with her head held high and gave him an awaiting look. Thankfully Kemuri got the message and with a quick gesture with his hand, he turned around and began guiding her to the kitchen.

They arrived to the kitchen in what seemed like no time at all, the route having really been rather simple with only two turns. Elena was positive that if nothing else, she'd probably be able to find her way to the kitchen by herself. Besides, if she got lost, all she had to do was follow her nose. She could almost feel her mouth start to water as she took in the wonderful smells that surrounded the fairly large kitchen, her eyes drawn in by the delicious looking foods that were currently being prepared.

"Ah, good morning young mistress, you're up early," the chef greeted her from across the room whilst chopping some vegetables with incredible speed, and Elena silently wished that he wouldn't let his eyes wander from his work; she really didn't feel like watching someone dismember their fingers this early into the day. Luckily he seemed to be finished as he stopped his vigorous chopping and put the knife down next to him, wiping his hands on a towel as he raised his gaze to look at her. "So, what'll you have for breakfast?"

"Um, well," she began as she stared at all of the already prepared food. To be honest she didn't recognize almost any of it and was a little hesitant trying something she didn't know, and other than the freshly baked bread and pickled eggs she really didn't feel like eating, her options were rather limited. Giving the chef a hesitant look, she tried her best not to sound on the verge of vomiting from the thought of the nasty smelling pickled eggs. "Actually, I was wondering if I could have something plain and simple. Maybe some bread with cheese and tomato and some tea, if that's okay?"

"Bread and tea? Is that honestly all you want? A growing young woman like you should eat more than that. I can make you anything you want, a full English breakfast for example," the chef replied, sounding both surprised and a little disappointed as he moved to stand beside a large stove, a few pots and pans laying on the counter ready to be used.

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly eat that much in the morning. Bread and tea are fine. Besides, I don't want to be a bother and seeing as there's already some freshly baked bread, all I need is some hot water to brew my tea."

"Well, if you're absolutely sure young mistress," the chef replied reluctantly as he made to grab a small kettle and proceeded to boil some water for her tea. "It'll take some time for the water to boil, in the mean time you can go sit by the table and I'll prepare your sandwich and tea," he told her in the midst of his work, shooing her off with his hand, the action leaving her somewhat irritated. It was as if she was seen as a little child, not big enough to even make her own breakfast. She wasn't having it.

"No, it's okay, really. I can make my own breakfast, thank you very much. All I need is a plate and teacup and I can handle the rest," she replied, already making her way towards the cupboards when she was suddenly pulled to a halt by Kemuri, once again having placed his hand on her shoulder, and without as much as a grunt, he spun her back around with laughable ease and pushed her out of the door. Elena barely even had time to register what had happened when she was already sitting by a large table, having been planted there firmly by her morning escort. She gave Kemuri an incredulous look as the man moved closer to the door and just stood there, making her feel rather uncomfortable.

After a short moment of exchanging stares with one another, Kemuri finally let out what seemed like a forced sigh, probably in effort to ease up the tension in the room.

"I apologize for that, young mistress, but the chef takes his work very seriously. No one comes between him and his food," he explained politely, giving her an oddly blank look. "It's best not to disturb him and just wait for your food."

"Right…" she managed to voice out as she leaned back against her chair, turning her face away from the man as a thick and slightly awkward silence settled into the room, making her feel that much more uncomfortable. She silently prayed that the chef would bring her breakfast soon so she could concentrate on devouring it instead of blurting out one of the many things that were threatening to escape her mouth. She glanced hopefully towards the door when she heard floorboards creek, only to have her spirits fall upon realizing that it was only Kemuri who had simply readjusted his position. She sighed louder than it was truly necessary and turned her attention to the uninviting interior of the room, having only a single table in the middle of the large room.

_This room was definitely not styled by a very creative person…_

"So, isn't my father coming for breakfast?" she found herself wondering out loud, shifting her gaze to meet Kemuri's. "He got back rather late last night, didn't he? I was sort of hoping to talk to him before school."

Kemuri swiftly turned his head from one side to the other, confirming the small suspicion Elena had had about the matter. "The master has already eaten and left for work. He apologizes that he wasn't able to see you off for school today but he was confidant that you would be alright," Kemuri explained just as the chef entered the room, bringing Elena her long waited breakfast.

She felt a ghost of a smile tug on her lips as she listened to his explanation, feeling slightly disappointed even though she'd been half-expecting matters to turn out this way. Not wanting to press the subject further, she thanked the chef for her specially prepared breakfast and dove in, munching on her sandwich and occasionally taking a sip of her tea. Kemuri stayed dead silent throughout her eating and when she was finally done, he beaconed her to follow him, leading her back to her room.

"Since this is your first day attending the academy you'll have to leave earlier in order to get a few last moment things sorted out, for instance your school uniform. The master has prepared a car to pick you up from the front gates in ten minutes. You'll be escorted to the courtyard in five."

With that, he turned and made his leave, leaving Elena by herself for the next five or so minutes. She decided to make the most of it and headed for her bathroom to brush her teeth, and once finished, she gave herself one last lookover before making her way to where her schoolbag was laying, quickly going through it to see whether or not she'd remembered to pack everything necessary. She felt her stomach once again tighten with anticipation as she moved the bag closer to her door, suddenly feeling rather nervous about leaving her room. She'd been homeschooled for years and the thought of having to meet many new people today was slowly becoming overwhelming for her. She couldn't even anticipate as to how she would take to sitting in a classroom again.

Besides, how would they react to her? How long would she be 'the new girl'? Would they ever accept her?

_Would it be too childish and cowardly to hide under my bed right about now? Or maybe I suddenly had a fever and couldn't go to school today?_

Her trail of thought was suddenly interrupted when she heard her name being called from behind her door, and with a quick intake of air she made her way to it, sliding it open. Kemuri stood quietly in front of her, an expecting look on his otherwise blank face. Elena quickly took the hint and grabbed her bag before stepping outside her room and sliding the door shut. Without as much as a word Kemuri once again began leading her to her destination, this time being the courtyard. With every step she took, Elena felt her stomach tighten more and more until she was almost on the verge of doubling over. Damning her nerves, she focused her eyes on Kemuri's ash grey hair and willed herself to walk, trying to think of any kind of distraction in order to forget her cramping stomach.

_I hope the chef didn't slip any of those eggs into that sandwich I had earlier, I'll give him an earful if I throw up during a class…_

They soon came to the courtyard and to Elena's great surprise it was far from empty. A few dozen men, most of them semi-familiar faces from the day before, were kneeling on the ground, forming a sort of path to the wooden gates. For a moment she could only stare at the scene before her, wondering what on earth was going on.

_I knew Japanese people were polite but this is ridiculous…_

And then she was moving, having been jerked into motion by Kemuri who was now very discreetly shoving her towards the gates. Once she had reached the first of the kneeling men, someone suddenly raised his voice and called out "Good morning young mistress!" Before she could even glance at the man, the rest of the men responded by greeting her in a similar fashion, though much more intensely than she would've liked as they all but shouted at her, almost making her jump ten feet into the air.

Startled, all she could do was stare at them, not knowing what to do. Recognizing Tarou and Kohaku amongst the sea of muscle, a nervous smile slowly plastered onto her face as she tried to react accordingly, seeing as the men were clearly waiting for something. "Morning," was all she was able to mumble as she continued her way to the gates and past the still kneeling men.

"We wish you an enjoyable first day at school!" She'd heard that voice before, it had to be Tarou's.

The sentence was soon repeated times 20 and this time Elena could only nod in answer, her legs suddenly carrying her towards the gates much faster than before, unconsciously wanting to escape from her current situation.

_These people are slowly starting to freak me out, not that I'll ever tell them that…_

The large wooden gates opened just so that she didn't have to stop her quickening gait, revealing a similar looking black car as the day before parked just outside the gates. A man dressed in a black suit was already keeping the backseat door open for her and with a quick 'thanks', Elena crawled into the large car, the door slamming shut mere milliseconds after she'd gotten all of her limbs inside the car. With that, they were off, the car now moving in a more leisurely fashion than the day before. She guessed it meant they weren't in a hurry. She watched the changing scenery as they moved with the morning rush, trying to memories the route from her father's to the academy. It was probably a waist of time but at least it gave her something to focus on, her stomach beginning to turn back to normal as the tightening eased more and more with every spin of the wheels.

When they finally stopped, Elena could only stare in disbelief at the courtyard they'd stopped outside of, filled with large, luxurious buildings, the car once again jerking into motion as a grand gate opened up to let the car inside the campus. The drive from the front to what she assumed to be the main building seemed to take forever as she took in the large campus, nearly gawking at everything she could lay her eyes on, be it a school building, a fountain or clock tower.

_How on earth can they have this many buildings here? And was that a garden? Just how big is this place?_

Forcing her eyes away from the car's window she clamped her mouth shut and took in a lungful of air, closing her eyes for a moment as a means to calm down. The car soon came to a stop and before she could even shift in her seat, the door was already opened for her and she hesitantly climbed out, giving the man holding the door open an unsure look, but before she could ask anything, the doors of the school building flew open and a man dressed in a white suit emerged from inside the building. Seeing her, the man smiled brightly and came up to her.

"Good morning! If I'm not mistaken, you must be our new student, Elena Kawamura?" he greeted, and after a nod from Elena to confirm his assumption, he continued, "Welcome to Ouran Academy, miss Kawamura. I'm the principal of this school, Yuzuru Suoh," he introduced himself briefly before turning to face the doors he'd just exited. "Now, we don't have much time before today's lessons start. Please follow me into my office and we'll go through a few minor things before you can start your day." With that, he beckoned her to follow him as he started making his way inside the building, giving Elena no choice but to follow as she turned to glance at the man who'd driven her to school, intending to thank him. To her great surprise and dismay, however, the man and car were already gone.

_Wait, did anyone mention how and when I'm supposed to get back home today?_

Sighing, she quickly followed Mr. Suoh into his office, the man getting straight to the topic as he sat down onto his chair, leaving her to stand in front of his desk.

"Now then, miss Kawamura, as I said there are a few topics we should address before you start your day. The first and possibly most important is the sheer meaning of getting into this school. As you may know, Ouran Private Academy is a highly respected and valued school for the elite. Nearly all of our students are of families of significant wealth and/or stature, with a few scholarship students of, how should I say, families of lower income. Even so, I'm sure I don't have to explain to you what it means to have this many children of the country's most influential families attend our school, and we'd greatly appreciate it if all of our students follow the school's rules and guidelines," he spoke in a serious tone, holding Elena's gaze for a moment before slightly altering his posture. "Lineage counts first, wealth a close second, you'll get far by remembering these words," he announced firmly, and Elena nodded her head in response, thinking of nothing else suitable to say or do.

_In other words, know your place and don't spoil some rich kid's day, possibly causing a PR crisis in doing so. Good lord what kind of school did you enroll me into dad? Wasn't the pubic school good enough?_

As she mentally cursed her father's extravagant choice of schooling, Mr. Suoh stood up from his chair and made his way to a nearby cupboard, quickly grabbing a medium-sized box from one of the shelves before walking back to his desk, setting the box in front of him.

"As you may have guessed by now, being such a prestigious school, we require our students to wear school uniforms. Our focus is to teach our students both academics and to school them into becoming perfect gentlemen and ladies in hopes of them having the best possible future. You'll find that our uniforms compliment our ethics reasonably well," he all but lectured her on the matter, inclining to the box in front of him.

Elena pulled it closer, a little apprehensive about opening it but managed to do so under the watch of her new principal. What she found nearly made her cry out in horror as she pulled it out of the box to properly inspect it.

The girl's uniform was a dress, extending all the way to the knees. It had a high neck collar and a red ribbon that was obviously meant to be worn in front of said collar. A pair of long white stockings were folded neatly on the bottom of the box, laying just next to the brown, low-heeled Mary Janes that she could already tell she would hate. But that wasn't the worst part of her future school attire, it was…

_Yellow. Out of all the colors they had to choose yellow._

As she tried her best not to show her distain towards the pale yellow piece of monstrosity, Mr. Suoh pulled out a couple of sheets of paper and set them on the desk, momentarily snapping Elena out of her despair.

"Here are your timetables, a map of the campus and a student's guide. You'll find all of our rules in there. Since your grades are fairly good, you'll be put into class 1-C. Your class, however, might change, as we keep regular track of our students grades from classes B, C and D. If your grades rise, there is a chance you'll be switched into class B, and in just the opposite, were your grades to drop, you'll be placed into class D. Any questions?"

"Is there an alternative choice of school uniform?" she found herself blurting out, much to her horror, as she realized her thoughts had been voiced out only after her principal gave her an incredulous look. Mentally cursing her big mouth, she prepared for the worse, thinking of an excuse she could tell her father later that day after being expelled from the school he'd probably paid a lot of money to get her in to.

To her great surprise the principal let out a small chuckle before straight out laughing for a few seconds, giving her an amused smile.

"I see you're quite the jester miss Kawamura. An alternative school uniform; simply hilarious. You've managed to make my morning," he mused, and Elena could only awkwardly laugh along with him, relieved that he'd chosen to interoperate it as a joke.

After Mr. Suoh had calmed down a bit, his eyes sought out his table clock before fixing back onto Elena.

"Your first lesson starts at precisely eight am. Your timetable will show you where and what you'll be having. Do change to the proper attire before going to class. Once again, welcome to our school and may you find studying here enjoyable."


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Hello again, it's been awhile, hasn't it? I apologize for the unnecessarily long update-less month or so, but I simply just didn't have time to write. Now though, my summer break has finally started and I got around to finish this chapter (wrote like another 5000k words in a few days). I hope you like it :)

Thank you all for your support, either by reviews or alerts. I always get a much needed kick out of them and I love to hear your opinions on the story! I wanted to ask you all about the future of this story concerning updating. Would you like for me to continue writing longer chapters, probably between 5000k to 10000k words, with updates one every four to six weeks, or would you like shorter chapters with quicker updating?

Finally, here are a few review replies :)

Fictionallyinlove: Thank you! It's always nice to get positive feedback :) I agree, I should update more often; it's just hard finding the time to write. I hope that now that I'm on my summer break I'll be able to write more and update more regularly.

Molly Grace 16: Thank you, I hope I won't disappoint your expectations!

XpixieXsticksX: Don't worry, I plan to! One of the reasons I started writing this fic was because of the sadly scarce amount of Ritsu fics. I hope this'll be one of the better ones :)

* * *

Chapter 3

It turned out Elena's first subject that day was math's, which suited her better than well considering she'd spotted subjects like flower arranging and Greek in her timetable, not looking forward to those classes at all. Now that she thought about the matter, there were few subjects even remotely close to the ones she'd used to have back in England, the only subjects being English, history and mathematics. She already dreaded attending the unfamiliar classes and having been enrolled into the school in the middle of a year didn't exactly help her keep up with the rest of her class.

By extremely good luck she'd managed to find her first classroom all on her own, though the map and a few general instructions from the principal had probably had something to do with her success. Her teacher, who conveniently happened to be her homeroom teacher, had pulled her aside as the rest of the students had entered the classroom and taken their seats, and upon having the last one sit, they entered the room together, her teacher guiding her to the front of the class, obviously intending to introduce her. Elena couldn't help but feel like an animal on display as she stood there beside her teacher, all eyes on her.

_Maybe if I click the heels of these horrible shoes together three times and chant 'there's no place like home' I'll end up back in my room…_

"Good morning class. As of this day our class will have a new face. Miss Kawamura has just enrolled into our school so let us all do our best to make her feel welcome," her teacher explained to the class, after which giving Elena an awaiting look.

She took it as her moment to shine.

_There's no place like home…._

Taking in a lungful of air, she forced a smile on her face and met the other students head on. "Hello, my name is Elena Kawamura. It's nice to meet you all," she uttered forcefully, keeping her eyes on the back wall of the room, just above everyone's heads, seemingly looking at them as she spoke.

There was a mish-mashed chorus of hellos as all of her classmates greeted her politely, a few hands rising as they looked at her with an expecting look. Elena slowly turned to look at her teacher, unsure what to do, her teacher soon taking charge of things once more.

"If miss Kawamura feels like answering some questions, we might have some time for a few before we continue with our scheduled lesson," the teacher explained the terms, and once again all eyes were on Elena.

She shrugged her shoulders, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "I don't mind answering a few questions," she announced, and soon nearly everyone in the room had their hand up, waiting patiently for a chance to ask what was on their mind. Elena didn't really know where to start from, so she picked one of the students who'd raised their hand just after her introduction.

The girl she'd picked smiled as she let her arm return to where it had been. "Are you a foreigner? Your looks and first name let me to believe that you're not completely Japanese," she inquired fairly innocently, explaining how she'd come to the conclusion.

A third of all of the hands dropped upon that very question, something Elena wasn't all that surprised about, and she thought quickly how she'd answer.

"Yes, you're correct that I'm not all Japanese. My father is Japanese whilst my mother is ¼ Japanese and ¾ English. Even so I somehow look more like my mother rather than my father."

The girl nodded, satisfied with Elena's answer, to which Elena responded quickly by picking another student, this time being a boy.

"Since you enrolled into the school in the middle of the year, did you perhaps move recently or did you just transfer from another nearby school?"

"As a matter of fact I did move, only yesterday, as it happens," she replied and upon the numerous curious looks, she elaborated a bit. "For the past eight years I've lived with my mother in England. Now, though, I've decided to stay with my father for the time being."

"So does that mean your parents are divorced?" a girl suddenly inquired from the back of the class, not leaving it to chance whether or not she'd be able to ask her question.

Elena instantly felt awkward about the feel of the question, be it how innocent. She hadn't exactly talked about the matter to anyone before and she didn't feel like sharing it with people she'd only just met, classmates or not. Her teacher was doing nothing to help her, as he too seemed to be curious on the matter.

_There's no place like home…_

It seemed she could do nothing but to be honest about the matter, seeing as she wasn't getting out of the situation before she replied something. Shifting her weight from one leg to the other, she once again stared at the back wall.

"Yes," was all she murmured before pinning her eyes on her teacher, giving him a pointed look. She was done answering questions for the time being, especially since the turn of the feel to them. Luckily her teacher finally decided to end her misery and start the lesson.

"Unfortunately that's all the time we have for questions, the rest of you will have to ask the remaining ones from miss Kawamura after class. Now then miss Kawamura, there is an empty desk on the second last row, please take a seat there," he advised as he began with the lesson.

Elena quickly found her desk and gratefully sat down behind it, feeling a slight wobble in her legs just as she'd sat down, adrenaline rushing through her bloodstream from her prior introduction. She felt like flinging her arms up in exasperation, frustrated with herself and her inability to remain calm in front of a crowd. Sighing, she pulled out her brand new math book and focused on losing herself in the 'wonderful and exciting' world of trigonometry, at least according to her teacher.

/ / / / / / /

"Did you really move to Japan only yesterday? You didn't waste any time starting school, huh? If it were me I would've needed at least a week to recover from a life changing experience like that," one of the girls gathered around Elena's desk exclaimed, disbelief ringing in her voice as she waited for an answer.

After the morning's lesson, Elena had tried to casually slip away from the classroom and find a nice, quiet place to relax before the next lesson. To her dismay, she'd been intercepted before she'd even been able to stand by half a dozen of her classmates who were now bombarding her with questions of somewhat random topics.

Elena tried her best to answer everyone's questions politely, no matter how awkward she felt. After all, they were probably only curious and once satisfied, they'd most likely leave her alone.

She nodded. "Yes, my flight arrived yesterday morning and even though I did have a little trouble sleeping last night, my father was quite insistent that I start school as soon as possible. So, here I am."

"How long did you live in England then?" one of the only two boys gathered around her desk quickly asked. "You said you lived there with your mother for the past eight years, right?"

"That's correct. All in all I think I've lived in England for about ten years. The rest I've spent in France and Japan."

"You must be pretty good with languages if you've managed to pull off something like that," he commented, to which Elena merely shrugged her shoulders.

"I can't say. Growing up my parents would speak both English and Japanese to me so I learned those two languages through them. French, however, has never been my strongpoint; I was pretty young during the time we lived in France and my parents took care of everything so I never really had to learn the language."

"Is that so? Well, you'll have to start learning it soon because we have mandatory French classes," the other boy stated, his face twisting into a slightly irritated fashion. "Our teacher's French born and doesn't tolerate mispronunciation or misspelling," he sighed sounding almost whiny, and Elena could only assume he himself was prone to both.

"Say, Kawamura," one of the girls suddenly caught her attention but before she could finish what she had to say, Elena spoke up.

"Just Elena, please. I've always been called by my first name and I'd feel more comfortable if you'd do the same. I don't mind, really," she explained to the group of teens around her, hoping she wasn't being too demanding.

"Okay, then I'll call you Elena if you in return call me by my given name. I'm Mariko Akiyama, it's nice to meet you," she introduced herself, smiling pleasantly as she got back to the subject. "So, Elena, a couple of us were wondering what your doing after today's lessons are over? Are you in a particular hurry to get back home?" Mariko asked, her hazel brown eyes shining with curiosity as she waited for an answer.

Elena thought about how she should reply, honestly not knowing how she was even getting back to her father's later that day, seeing as she'd failed to ask about the matter from the driver. Shrugging, she figured she could at least listen to what the other girl had to say.

"I don't think I am. My driver left before I could even ask him if he was coming to pick me up."

Mariko's face lit up as a huge smile formed on her lips. "Would you perhaps like to participate in after-school club activities? There's one club in particular we'd like to show you," she suggested, the rest of the girls wearing similar facial expressions on their faces as they waited anxiously for her to reply. "And don't worry, you won't have to do anything but relax and enjoy yourself, honestly."

For some reason Elena had a bad feeling about this, but after already having confessed that she wasn't in a hurry, she couldn't refuse that easily.

_I hope I don't regret this…_

"Yeah, I guess I can join you, given I won't need anything extra to participate," she told them, her reply causing a few giddy squeals to erupt from a few of the girls.

"That's great! I can't wait for classes to end!" Mariko exclaimed just when their teacher entered the room, and the teens gathered around Elena's desk all returned to their seats.

Elena sighed tiredly; her first recess was over and already she'd talked more with her classmates than she'd gotten to speak with her father, not to mention she'd promised to accompany some of the girls to an after-school club. Grabbing her history book from her bag, she tried to focus on the on-coming lesson, mentally worrying about what the rest of the day still had to offer.

_I hope I didn't agree into something stupid._

/ / / / / / /

The first three lessons of the day were over and it was time for lunch, and even though she insisted she wasn't hungry, Elena found herself being guided along the grand hallways of her new school with Mariko leading the way, slowly but surely making their way towards the lunchroom. Unlike most of her classmates who'd already seemed to lose interest in her, Mariko had stuck to her like glue, insisting she'd show Elena around the campus and get her to know some important places - and people. Elena wasn't very keen on the latter but just nodded her head and went with it, having already met a few of Mariko's acquaintances, both having been the heirs to their parents' companies. Elena had made sure to remember their faces; the last thing she wanted was to end up on their bad side. It was probably best she'd avoid them completely, just in case.

As they made their way to the lunchroom, talking idly as they walked, Elena couldn't help but notice the starting commotion straight in front of them as people all but leaped to the far sides of the walls, giving room to a group of boys. She was oblivious to the fact that her guide had done the same and she soon found herself nearly running into the group of boys, both parties halting just in time to avoid collision. It was suddenly very quiet as all eyes were on her, the anticipation almost tangible as everyone waited for something to happen. It was right about then when Elena realized she'd bumped into the wrong people.

_Just my luck._

"Oi, watch where you're going! Can't you see I'm walking here?" the boy closest to her snapped, all but glaring at her as the two boys behind him slightly altered their position, standing up at their full heights as they all gave her hostile looks. "Out of the way!"

For a moment she was speechless, only being able to stare at the group in disbelief. Her previous assumptions of Japanese being polite were all but thrown out the window as she suddenly started to feel a bit annoyed with the situation, and before she was even conscious about it, she'd already opened her mouth, the words simply rolling off her tongue.

"Do you often bash into people? Funny, here I thought that it was common courtesy for people to dodge others," she stated bluntly, meeting the boy's glare head on. She was no stranger to bullies or jerks, and if she'd learned anything through her days as 'the new girl' was that she couldn't expect anyone else to defend her than herself. She knew what she was getting herself into the moment she opened her mouth, yet she just couldn't let these jerks sweep her into a corner like she was nothing.

She kept staring at him defiantly, not even daring to blink as she waited for him to react. The boy's facial expression had taken multiple directions during the last few seconds, first from cocky to slightly dumbfound, following with confusion, realization, and currently morphing into a rather irritated stare as he took a step forward, clearly daring her to stand her ground. Elena did just that, though in doing so there was now less than a half a foot between her and the boy's faces, much to her discomfort.

The boy gave her a pointed stare, his posse hovering behind him, looking ready to pounce on her at any given moment.

"You're new right? I'll let this time slide 'cause you clearly don't know the hierarchy of this school. But remember this face," he murmured lowly through his teeth, pointing lazily at his own face, "the next time you decide to get in my way, you'll find yourself wishing you hadn't, got that? Either you dodge or you regret it." His words held a promise as he shoved right past her, him and his posse continuing their way along the hallway as the people gathered around hastily made way for them.

Elena didn't even bother looking back as she slowly inched herself forward, glancing at her side as Mariko reappeared beside her and gave her an apologizing, yet grave look.

"I'm sorry Elena, I meant to pull you out of the way but I wasn't fast enough! Listen to me, whatever you do, stay away from those guys. I should've warned you about them earlier but I had no idea we'd even see any of them today," she sighed, her voice carrying a hint of dread as she brought her hands up to her face and covered her eyes. "And now you're going to be their next target thanks to that show you pulled off."

"What do you mean target? Who were they anyway, such rude people," Elena found herself wanting to know, trying to zone out all the whispering around them as they continued their way to the lunchroom. "Besides, I couldn't let them treat me like that."

Mariko looked at her from behind her fingers as she slowly dropped her hands back to her sides, once again sighing, her expression serious.

"Those were students from class 1-D and the one you had the pleasure of bumping into was Katsuro Okane, the future heir of the Okane Syndicate. He's yakuza and trust me, the less you have to deal with him, the better," she spoke quietly, almost whispering, as if afraid of being overheard.

Elena felt her blood run cold. Yakuza. She'd just talked back to a member of the Japanese mafia, and an heir no less.

_Me and my big mouth…_

"Mariko, please tell me you're joking. I mean yeah that guy was an ass and a little scary but yakuza?" she half shouted, half whispered, her head whipping around to look back where the group had gone, suddenly feeling rather nervous.

Mariko's expression hadn't changed as she slowly turned her head from side to side. "I wish I were. The fact is, there are quite a lot of yakuza children in this school. They're all rounded up into one class, the D-class. That's why you don't want your grades to drop because if you do, you'll be put into their class."

Elena gave her a look of disbelief. "Why on earth does this school accept people with criminal backgrounds? I got the feeling this was a highly respected school and associating with yakuza doesn't exactly sound like good advertisement for the school."

"Why else, money. Many of the families if not all are practically rolling in it and getting their children into Ouran gives them the false impression that they're families are respected and admired. Besides, I don't think the chairman has much choice in the matter; if he were to refuse taking in yakuza, most of them would probably start to cause trouble. I've learned to accept the fact that I have to share a school with them but that doesn't mean I want to spend time with any of them. Take my advice; in this school, it's better to know the yakuza but not associate with them," Mariko told briefed, ending her lecture with a serious look.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Elena replied, thinking back on her most recent run in. She wondered whether her father had known about the matter when he'd enrolled her in. She would have to bring it up the next time they talked.

They finally arrived to the school's lunchroom and Elena couldn't help but gawk at it in silent awe. Sure she'd known that it wouldn't be anything like the regular lunchrooms she was partially used to but this was still a bit too much to take in.

It was just as grand as all the rest of the school, with row after row of chefs, all standing behind large stands and stoves, seemingly preparing whatever students wanted to eat. Mariko lead her to one of them and explained that if she didn't feel like eating what the chefs had already prepared, they would make her something else. Elena had a hard time believing that someone wouldn't find anything worth eating from all of the delicious looking foods already plated on the stands. She was slightly overwhelmed by the amount of choices, ranging from simple soups to tenderloin steak. She ended up choosing blindly, noticing Mariko already having chosen hers and waiting for her to make her pick. To be completely honest Elena didn't even have a clue what she'd picked but at least she'd recognized that it was some sort of pasta dish.

Mariko continued to usher her, making their way to a nearby table. Elena vaguely recognized one or two of her new classmates already seated, talking idly as they picked their food. Upon noticing them, they stopped their chatting and greeted them politely.

"Hi Mariko! We were just wondering when you'd show up," a girl Elena knew was in her class said, taking another bite out of her salad. The girl sitting next to her gave Elena a curious look, turning her eyes to Mariko. "Is this your new classmate?"

"Yes, this is Elena Kawamura and she just moved here from England. I'm showing her around," Mariko explained before sitting down, motioning Elena to do the same. "These are Eri and Aoi, they're in class B."

The rest of the girls seated around the table greeted her and Elena couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable, once again being the center of attention. She did however manage to respond with a quick 'hello'. Satisfied with her answer, they all focused briefly on their food before very discretely and politely beginning to chat with her, all of them seeming to be interested to know more about her.

"So tell us, what brings you to Japan?" the same girl as before – Aoi, she remembered - inquired, nibbling on a piece of vegetable as soon as she'd finished her question. Elena made an unconscious note of how elegantly she posed herself, maintaining a near perfect posture as she ate. Elena couldn't help but feel a little jealous as well as embarrassed when she saw that apart from her, all of the rest around her sported equally enviable postures. She let out a mental sigh; even though she'd practice the next decade she'd most likely never be able to sit even remotely elegantly.

Feeling slightly frustrated, she pinned a few pieces of pasta with her fork as she recalled the question from before, wondering how she should fraise her answer. "Well, I guess you could say my dad," she confessed, quickly gulping her food, hoping whatever she'd picked would taste good. To her relief her lunch appeared to be pasta with mushroom sauce; she could stomach that.

"Oh, so you moved with your father? Was he transferred from England or something else?" the other girl Elena didn't remember being in the same class with asked. She assumed her to be Eri.

"Not exactly. My dad moved here eight years ago while I stayed in England with my mother. Now, though, I thought that it would be nice to live with my dad for awhile."

The girls nodded, once again quieting down to nibble on their food. Elena took the chance to pin more of her pasta, glancing carefully at Mariko as she forked down her chicken salad all the while looking nothing short of elegant. Elena found herself trying to mimic the other girls' motions but ended up dropping more of her food back onto her plate than what she actually got in her mouth. She would just have to work on her eating habits sometime else.

"I apologize if this sounds a little rude," Aio started slowly as she rested her gaze on Elena, "but it doesn't take much to see that you're not yet fully educated in being a young woman. May I ask what your parents do for a living? I've never heard of the Kawamuras before."

Well, she got her on her less than desirable table manners.

"Actually, Kawamura is my mother's maiden name. I took it after my father moved to Japan," she responded, deciding to forget about her food for the time being, suddenly feeling rather self-conscious about eating in front of near strangers. "To be honest I'm not sure what my father does but I assume he's some sort of businessman. My mother's worked as an accountant for the last eight years or so."

The girls politely nodded their heads as a mean to show they were listening.

"I see, interesting…" Aio murmured deep in thought, eying her pile of steamed vegetables, poking it with her fork. "I'm assuming your parents are divorced, judging by the living arrangements and change of name," she suddenly stated, followed by an inquiring look.

Elena found herself staring at her food as if afraid that it would suddenly run away, shrugging her shoulders as she once again pinned a few pieces of pasta with her fork. "It's not uncommon these days," she finally voiced out, quickly consuming whatever she'd gotten on her fork.

Aio merely huffed, sounding both amused yet frustrated. "Tell me about it! After my father cut my mother off from his money, she divorced him straight away. She's now on her third husband."

Elena stared at her for a moment, not knowing how to respond. Fortunately, Mariko suddenly seemed to remember something as she momentarily forgot about her food and let her eyes wander around the table.

"I'm sorry to change the subject like this but you simply must hear about this," she began excitedly, lowering her voice just a notch as she continued on. "You'll never believe who Elena and I had the displeasure of meeting while we were making our way here," she sighed sounding slightly frantic as the girls around began to call out names that meant nothing to Elena.

"Not that Umiko of class 2-C? Last weekend she publicly humiliated me at a dinner party, the nerve of her..."

"Or could you possibly be talking about the new Latin teacher? I swear if he asks me to translate his favorite poems into Latin without any help one more time I'm telling my father to call the chairman and fix the situation."

"It wasn't _him_, was it? The walking blizzard?"

Everyone around them suddenly fell silent, all wearing matching, worried facial expressions. That is, all except Elena, who once again didn't have a clue as to what they were talking about. Mariko lightly cleared her voice, giving a slightly forced smile as she reclaimed the center of attention.

"Not any of them, but the last guess was the closest. Actually, Elena all but walked into Katsuro Okane. I failed to pull her out of the way in time, - I'm so sorry about that Elena-" she gave her an apologizing expression as she focused back on the subject. "And out of all the things she could've done, she decided to talk back at him. And refused to move!"

Elena once again found herself the center of attention as every pair of eyes within hearing distance were pinned on her, expressions of shock and awe on their faces. Elena felt her cheeks begin to flare as she hastily tried to think of something to say.

"Well, um… I couldn't just let him treat me like that, could I? Besides, he was a royal jerk," she muttered, raising her eyes from her food to look at people around her as she finished, giving them a stubborn look.

For a moment they merely stared at her before finally Eri cleared her voice, thus drawing everyone's attention.

"Well, usually when somebody bumps into a yakuza, they apologize and get out of the way before they find their selves in even more trouble. I've never heard of anyone outside the yakuza stand his or her ground, and even that's fairly uncommon. To be honest I didn't expect such an act from you; you're obviously not from a very notable family not to mention you just started studying at Ouran. No offense," she explained, giving her a pitiful look once she was done.

Elena didn't know whether to feel proud or insulted. "None taken," she murmured, still not having quite made her mind.

_Doesn't anyone here value other attributes than the size of your wallet?_

Suddenly losing her appetite, she decided to merely listen at the newly forming conversation around the table as she waited for at least Mariko to finish her lunch. She assumed she'd be in for a rather long wait, seeing as all the rest of the table were promptly engulfed in a discussion about a new tea set.

/ / / / / / /

"So, tell me that you're still up for that after school club I mentioned earlier? You did promise you'd come," Mariko reminded her as they exited the classroom, having just ended the day with a double lesson of classical literature. Elena was nothing short of dead tired after the long day, having just begun to get used to the idea of attending school, and the strange new subjects weren't helping in her silent objective of getting at least decent grades. From what she'd figured out during her classes, she would have to do some serious studying; about three month's worth if she even dreamed of passing any of the exams.

Feeling slightly pressured from what lay ahead, she was a little reluctant spending any of her free time at school. Unfortunately, she had promised she would attend whatever club the rest of her new classmates were going to, and with a quick nod of her head she confirmed Mariko's assumptions, causing the girl to smile brightly.

"That's great! I know you'll love it," she replied with a confusing wink as she began guiding her along the halls, making turns every now and then.

"What kind of club are we exactly going to? I don't think anyone's mentioned it," Elena suddenly remembered, curious to find out. She was a little let down when Mariko refused to tell her before they got there, finally stopping by one of the music rooms, the third one to be exact.

"So, is it a music club?" Elena asked tentatively, giving the girl next to her an anxious look. "I'm not what you could say talented in music; I don't know how to play any instrument and don't even get me started on my singing."

Mariko laughed lightly as she slipped a hand behind her back, nudging her forward. "Don't worry, this is far from a music club," she giggled as she opened the door.

Straight away Elena's vision was clouded by red, and it took a moment before she realized that they were rose petals, elegantly encircling them as they stepped into the large room. Once her vision was clear, her eyes were greeted by dozens of comfortable looking sofas and chairs, placed neatly around expensive looking coffee tables. There were people seated around the tables, talking idly with each other, taking sips of tea out of their teacups from time to time. It didn't take long for Elena to notice that the vast majority of the people enjoying their afternoon tea were female students of the high school, only being able to spot two male students amongst the sea of obnoxious yellow dresses.

She gave Mariko a slightly reluctant look as she thought about the idea of spending the rest of her afternoon drinking various teas and trying to act like she knew what the others were talking about. After all, she really wasn't one to socialize in that manner.

"So this is some sort of tea club I gather," she voiced out her observation as Mariko lead them towards a black haired young man with glasses, him being the other of the two male students Elena had spotted earlier.

Mariko let out a muffled giggle. "Well, not exactly, though we often do come here for some tea. That and good company," she elaborated, giving a giddy expression after her later comment.

Elena was just about to inquire more when they stopped in front of the spectacled young man, and he gave them an inviting smile as he turned his attention away from a black notebook.

"Ah, miss Akiyama, it's nice to see you again. I can only assume your last visit was enjoyable," he greeted her, still keeping the same smile on his lips, momentarily glancing at Elena. "You've seemed to have brought a new guest this time as well."

"Yes, I had a wonderful time, thank you Kyoya. This is my new classmate, Elena Kawamura. She just enrolled into Ouran and I'm showing her around," Mariko quickly introduced her. "Elena, this is Kyoya Ootori, one of the members of this club. He's in class 2-A."

The black haired young man politely nodded his head in acknowledgement. "It's always nice to see new faces. Now then, your last appointment was with Tamaki if memory serves me correctly. Would you like to request him once more?" he asked casually, going through his notebook. "He's entertaining a few guests at the moment but he'll be free shortly."

Guests? Entertain? Request? Just what sort of tea party was this?

"No that's alright. Tamaki was wonderful last time but I think we'll take someone else this time, seeing as this is Elena's first time. By chance would Haruhi be free?" Mariko wondered out loud, promptly neglecting to notice Elena's anxious gaze as she tried to get any sort of explanation out of the girl, the situation making her feel more uncomfortable by the second.

Kyoya flipped through his notebook, stopped, and gave an apologizing smile. "I regret to inform that Haruhi is also currently occupied. The twins, though, have just finished and aren't expecting anymore prescheduled guests today. Would they do?" he continued on just as casually as one would read through a shopping list.

Elena was beginning to realize that this wasn't just some average tea club.

_This can't be what I think this is… Am I about to get pimped?!_

Mariko let out a thoughtful hum as she quickly pondered on the matter. "I'm not sure. Personally I would be delighted to spend time with any of the hosts but I don't want Elena to feel as though her likings weren't considered. I still think Haruhi would be the best choice for her; she's most likely new to this."

Kyoya raised a single eyebrow. "Well, that's a problem solved with almost no effort at all. If you would be so kind as to follow me," he merely stated and turned to his left, beginning to guide them towards an unoccupied sofa. Mariko had to practically drag Elena along as she'd suddenly lost the use of her feet, her legs feeling like solid concrete blocks as she frantically tried to get her thoughts together, dreading the unknown.

She'd feared in getting involved in something stupid, and with the look of how things were progressing, this was definitely turning out to be just that. She should've just tried her luck walking back to the house.

Elena vaguely registered Mariko pushing her into a sitting position onto the sofa, elegantly flopping herself beside her as she kept her eyes on the black haired young man. Kyoya lightly pushed his glasses higher with one finger and gestured his hand towards the teakettle and teacups lying on the table.

"Unfortunately ladies I must leave you for a moment or two. In the mean time you can enjoy one of our newest tea brands free of charge. I'll return to you shortly."

With that, he gave a polite nod with his head, before he left them to wait, Mariko already having taken advantage of the free taster while Elena stared after Kyoya. Mariko poured them both a cupful of steaming hot tea, the aroma reminding Elena of a flower meadow as Mariko pushed the cup into her hands. Elena let her companion enjoy her tea until she lost sight of the spectacled young man, swiftly turning to face her classmate, giving her a demanding expression.

"Mariko, please, tell me where we are and what this club does. I'm getting the feeling I'm participating in something illegal," she half shouted, half whispered, briefly breaking eye contact to glance around, worrying that someone might have overheard her.

Mariko lightly put down her teacup and tried to muffle a giggle, giving Elena an amused smile.

"You, my new friend, have been brought to the infamous Host Club of Ouran Academy."

"I'm sorry, what? A host club?" Elena repeated, dreading the answer.

"Didn't you have clubs like this back in England? The members here are all super cute high school boys that spend their afternoons entertaining guests. It's a place where one with too much time on their hands can come to enjoy themselves."

Elena gave her a horrified look. "You mean this is some sort of male brothel?" she gasped, jumping to her feet. "I don't know how you view these things here in Japan but in England we most certainly didn't have these sort of clubs!"

"What? No, Elena, it's not what you think-" Mariko tried to get a word in but Elena wasn't in the mood to listen.

"I'm sorry, I have to go," she quickly stammered and turned around, just in time to register the blue uniform before her inevitable crash with a male student, the delicate teacup she was still holding onto all but shattering into pieces as two bodies collided.

She was immobilized; barely even remember how to breath as everyone turned to look at the commotion. She could feel something warm and wet running down her stomach just as someone gently grabbed her by her shoulders and began walking her towards a door on the other end of the large room, her heart pounding in her ears as she could do nothing more than stare into a blank space in front of her. The door seemed to open by itself and she was led inside the much smaller room. Vaguely recalling she was in a music room, Elena figured it was most likely a storage room, though instead of instruments it had a long row of makeshift changing booths.

The hands around her shoulders suddenly lifted and she could hear someone walk away, the door closing soon after with a light click. For what seemed like an hour she just stood there, shocked and confused. Finally, very hesitantly, she took a step towards one of the booths, peaking inside, not sure what she would find. What she found surprised her; it was her bag.

Closing the distance, Elena opened it, only to find that everything seemed to be in place; books, timetable, mobile, clothes.

Her clothes.

She gave a hesitant glance at the full-length mirror hanging on the wall, the front of her school uniform carrying a dark brown smudge. It took her a moment to realize it was tea.

_I think it looks better this way. The only way to make it better would be to throw it into a shredder._

Quickly peaking out of the booth and seeing no one, she considered her situation for a moment. She'd obviously been led here to change out of her wet and dirty attire, and with a one fluid motion to close the light yellow curtains and a shaky sigh, she began undressing, making sure she was still by herself in the room. After all, in a place like this who knew what sort of pervert could be lurking in the corners.

/ / / / / / /

There was a slight knock on the door, asking for entry. Mariko hesitantly opened the door leading to the changing room, lightly closing it behind her.

"Elena? It's me, Mariko. Are you still here?" she called out, making her way to the long row on booths.

One of the curtains flew open as Elena peaked out of the booth, having already changed into her old clothes. Seeing Mariko, she walked up to her, bag in hand. Mariko gave her a gently smile.

"Thank goodness you're alright, I thought you might have gotten a wound from that broken teacup. I was starting to get worried about you; you've been in here for almost forty five minutes and all of the others have already gone," she explained, giving her a calm look. "Are you ready to come back outside?"

Elena nodded. "I want to go home." She wasn't usually this demanding to near strangers, having been taught differently, but giving the turn of events she honestly didn't care. She was tired, humiliated and in an unfamiliar place she really didn't want to be; was asking to go home so unreasonable?

Mariko nodded, turning to make her way to the door, Elena in tow. Opening the door, she waited for Elena to exit the room before closing it, lightly touching Elena's arm and pulling her to a halt.

"If it's not too much trouble, I'd like you to meet a few people. This club isn't what you think, Elena. The members here are extremely nice and complete gentlemen," she assured her, giving her an expecting look.

"I just really want to go home," Elena replied tiredly, not sure how long she'd be able to keep this up.

A high whistle echoed in the room as two identical auburn-haired boys suddenly appeared in front of them, giving her an amused, yet curious look.

"Wow, did you here that? She refused a chance for a private meeting with us!" the one on the left marveled, slight shock in his voice as he shared a look with the other.

"Are we sure she didn't get a concussion in the midst of that crash with Mori?" the other wondered out loud and pocked her on the head with his finger. "Hey, Kyoya, we should get her to your family's hospital or something! She's acting delirious."

"Why not just go to the school nurse for crying out loud? Rich kids…" a doe-eyed, brown haired boy murmured fairly audible from a nearby sofa where he was seating, refocusing his attention back to the thick schoolbook on his lap. Elena recognized the book; it was the first year history book that weighed like a bag of bricks.

Next to the boy, sitting on the other end of the sofa, Kyoya took a sip of tea from his teacup before setting it down on the table. "Now now, I seriously doubt miss Kawamura sustaining anything more than a soggy uniform from the collision. How are you feeling, miss Kawamura?"

"She looks a little pale, don't you think? Hey I know, maybe if she had some cake she'd feel better! Me and Usa-chan always feel better after cake!" a short, blonde-haired boy shouted enthusiastically from atop a high chair stationed beside a small round table, his short legs dangling in the air as he continued to engulf his own piece of cake. A light pink stuffed bunny was occupying the chair across the boy, a serving of strawberry cake sitting untouched on the table in front of it.

"Well Honey-senpai, not everyone shares your taste. I'd imagine miss Kawamura is still a bit shaken from before; Hikaru, Kaoru, could you escort both miss Kawamura and Akiyama to a sofa?" Kyoya casually remarked, nodding towards the sofa across from his current position.

Elena barely had any time to protest when she was suddenly pulled into a swift walk by one of the identical boys, having been ushered to the awaiting red couch in less than a heartbeat. Elena watched jealously as Mariko was left to sit down on her own where as she had the great displeasure of being pushed towards the edge of the sofa by her 'escort', causing her to reel back into the couch. Muttering something incomparable, she wondered what classified as a perfect gentleman these days, the twins merely grinning at her antics. Her only comfort was that once she was promptly on her rear, the auburn-haired duo left her alone, retreating behind the couch occupied by Kyoya and the doe-eyed boy, the later seeming slightly irritated as he gave the twins a pointed look.

"Since when do we treat guests like that?"

The duo both shrugged simultaneously, cocking their heads to the left. "Well it was obvious she was a little reluctant to sit on her own. Besides, she's proven to be interesting so far and we wanted to see her reaction," the one on left said matter-of-factly before both of them turned to give the brown haired boy a mischievous look. "She reminds us of you, Haruhi," they snickered, the comment causing doe-eyes to pale. "You were so cute back then."

"H-hey! Quit it guys!"

"Aw, you're just too adorable!"

Elena watched the show start to unravel before her, not knowing what to think of the scene she was currently witnessing. The doe-eyed boy –Haruhi, apparently – tried to wrestle himself out of the tight hug the auburn-haired boys had ensnared him into while the others merely watched how it would all unfold, though it was clear that the lone boy had no chance.

Elena caught Kyoya's expecting gaze and she briefly wondered what he'd asked from her before things started getting, well, strange.

_It must have something to do with the money; they've all gone insane._

"Actually, I'm quite alright, thanks for asking," she muttered somewhat reluctantly, her reply causing the bickering heap of blue uniforms to unwind and calm down. Beside her Mariko sighed before turning back to face the hosts.

"I'm glad to hear that miss Kawamura. That was a most regrettable accident but we luckily managed to come out of it unscarred seeing as neither you nor Mori-senpai got hurt in the process," he went along calmly, pushing his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

For a moment Elena wondered who this Mori-senpai was before realizing he was probably the one she'd crashed into, her eyes widening in shock as she finally realized that someone else might have gotten injured because of her actions. Feeling a bit guilty of only thinking of herself, she slowly glanced towards everyone currently in the near proximity, searching for any signs of anger on anyone's face.

_Great, now I probably ruined someone's whole week by sandwiching a teacup between us. I hope he doesn't sue me…_

"Hey, where did Tamaki and Mori go? Wasn't Tamaki just here a moment ago?" Mariko suddenly remarked, glancing around to empathize the matter.

"Takashi's changing; he slipped into the dressing room not long after miss Kawamura was done. And before that he ran to the dry cleaner's to get his uniform cleaned up!" the short, blonde-haired boy answered quickly before switching plates with the stuffed animal beside him, looking greedily at the piece of cake.

"As for Tamaki, he suddenly had the urge for commoner's coffee but since Haruhi refused to make him some, he decided he'd try buying some from a coffee shop," Kyoya explained sounding slightly bored, checking his watch to confirm the time. "The coffee shop isn't far, he should be back shortly."

'Commoner's coffee?' Elena mouthed silently, not understanding what they meant. Didn't these people have their own servants to tend to their every need? Surely such deeply spoiled children would only expect the very best, and still, this Tamaki had wanted instant coffee? She couldn't understand the logic behind it.

Mariko gasped in awe. "He went to buy it himself? Wow, how noble of him," she marveled deep in thought. "He's so brave to venture out on his own; I've heard coffee shops attract in suspicious people." Her comment caused both Elena and Haruhi to sigh deeply.

Just then the door to the changing room opened and a very tall black-haired young man walked out of it, shutting the door behind him as he made his way towards the small, cake-eating boy. Elena stared at him in anticipation, holding her breath as she prepared for the worst as the boy walked past her.

Not even glancing at her. Utterly and completely ignoring her.

_What?_

Before she could get a word in, the largest door flew open with a loud bang, all but scaring the living daylights out of her. A blond-haired young man strode in with determination and upon spotting the rest of the male students around the sofas, he quickly made his way towards them, holding up a large cardboard container with both his hands, the container obviously filled with coffee.

"Look you guys I did it! I got my coffee!" he exclaimed merrily, showing off his possession like it was some sort of fine watch. "The lady who sold this to me asked if I wanted to drink it there or if I was taking it with me; I told her I'd be taking it with me and she put it in this nifty little container. And look, there's even a hole on the lid in order for one to drink out of it! Commoners are smarter than we thought, this is pure genius!" he went on and on, completely oblivious to the fact that they weren't alone until the twins pointed it out.

"That's nice and all boss but you should know that the girl finally came out of the changing room."

"Yeah, she's sitting right behind you, probably feeling totally ignored and humiliated, no thanks to you."

"What the-!" the blond did a one-eighty, his purple eyes catching Elena's. "Ah, so our Cinderella has finally emerged! How are you feeling, lovely princess?" he asked, voice dripped in velvet.

Elena couldn't help but lean further into the couch cushions; another weirdo, just what she needed. "Like I already said, I'm fine. And if it's not too much trouble could you please not call me that; it just doesn't seem right."

"Aw look boss, you're making her feel uncomfortable!"

"What kind of a host are you? Not a very good one, apparently…" the twins continued to sneer, much to the blonde's apparent dismay. Kyoya however seemed to be on top of the situation and stopped the on-coming brawl before it had a chance to start.

"Speaking on hosting, now that we are all finally here, I think it would only be appropriate to introduce ourselves," he began, heavily empathizing the word finally, giving the blonde a pointed look.

"Yes, that was exactly what I was thinking!" he exclaimed as if having just reached an 'eureka' moment. Bowing deeply, he took a hold of Elena's hand and locked eyes with her, smiling brightly. "My name is Tamaki Suoh, I'm the founder and president of the Host Club. Our members consist of male students with too much time on their hands, and our purpose is to entertain any guest that walks through those doors," he gestured dramatically towards the pair of doors he'd emerged from not long ago. "It's a pleasure to meet you, miss Kawamura. I hope you enjoy your stay," he continued in the same velvety voice, softly pecking her hand, the action instantly causing Elena's face to burn as she quickly pulled her hand away.

"Mmm," she hummed awkwardly in reply, before once again daring to face the boy. "I'm Elena Kawamura. And I'd prefer that you'd call me by my given name."

"Sure thing miss Kawamura! We're the Hitachiin brothers," the twins said in unison, both wearing large grins on their faces. "I'm Hikaru," the other said, "and I'm Kaoru," the other continued, the two of them giving her a challenging sneer as they both finished up with "but you'll never be able to tell us apart."

"What did I just say about my name?" she muttered under her breath, giving the twins a pointed look.

"I've already introduced myself, Haruhi?" Kyoya stated, giving the doe-eyed boy a glance.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Haruhi Fujioka," he bowed politely. "I can tell you must feel a little uncomfortable being here but don't worry; the people here are honestly not that bad. Sure they might seem a little strange at first but it's their way of trying to be nice."

Barely had the boy even finished his sentence when he was being swung around the room like a ragdoll in the arms of Tamaki.

"You don't know how happy that makes me feel Haruhi! Papa loves you too!" he laughed as he whirled around, an obviously reluctant Haruhi in his grasp.

"Hey knock it off senpai! I'm starting to feel sick!" the boy complained but his words went to deaf ears. Fortunately for her, the twins decided to intervene, though it was much more because they wanted to shock their leader.

"You know boss miss Kawamura thought that we were running a male brothel," they said in a singsong voice, their words instantly causing the blonde to freeze, a look of horror plastered on his face.

"W-what? A brothel? That's not what the Host Club is!" he screamed in morbid horror, letting go of Haruhi as he rushed to Elena's side, giving her an anxious look. "You must believe me, this is not a brothel! I run a respectable club, right Mama?" he turned to look at Kyoya, giving him a puppy dog-eyed stare. Elena respectively leaned further away from the boy standing less than a foot away from her.

"You're making our guest feel uncomfortable, Tamaki," Kyoya stated before glancing towards the pair of chairs and table.

The short boy leaped out of his chair towards the tall, black-haired boy, who caught him in mid air. "I'm Mitsukuni Haninozuka but everyone just calls me Hunny. It's nice to meet you Ele-chan!"

"Ele-chan?" she repeated, slightly confused. Hunny was referring to her as though he was older, which would've taken a miracle. She had a hard time believing the boy was even in high school. He must've been one of those geniuses that skipped an entire level of education.

Mariko gave her a small smile. "Hunny-senpai often gives nicknames to people," she explained, though her sentence didn't sound right to Elena's ears.

"Senpai?" she once again repeated, soon getting her answer.

"Yeah, couldn't you tell? Hunny-senpai's already on his last year, along with Mori-senpai," one of the twins pitched in, the information making Elena do a double take on the short boy currently supported on the tall one's shoulders.

"This here's my cousin Takashi but usually I'm the only one that calls him that, all the rest use Mori," the short boy introduced his current means on transportation. "Say hi Takashi!"

"Ah," was all he said as he turned his head to acknowledge her. For the longest moment they just stared at each other, Elena bracing herself for anything concerning the collision, yet it never came. The young man merely stayed silent as Elena finally gave in and opened her mouth.

"I'm so sorry about running into you! I must've ruined your school uniform with that tea; it was so dark I bet those stains won't ever come off. Oh, and I nearly injured you in the process as well, and all I could think about was myself and now I feel so bad about the whole thing I could die of humiliation!" she babbled on and on, having trouble stopping once she'd started.

Mori's blank expression had evolved throughout her apology into a slightly confused one and the twins couldn't help but use the moment to their advantage.

"Hmm, sounds to me like Mori's letting our newest guest take all the blame on her while he's completely innocent!" the other wondered out loud, nearly shouting the remark, making everyone turn to look at the tall young man.

"Yeah, some gentleman; letting the girl take the heat. She even said she could die, that's pretty bad, wouldn't you say?" the other continued, putting more pressure on Mori, who was starting to look rather uncomfortable.

"I think she deserves an apology! Apologize right now Takashi!" Hunny mock ordered from atop the other's shoulders, but somehow the black-haired third year couldn't manage even a single syllable.

Elena was starting to feel even guiltier than she already was. "No it was my fault. If I hadn't gotten up to leave then, none of this would've happened!" she tried to insist, but it seemed as though her words meant nothing to the group of teens.

"That's it I got it! Mori can apologize by having tea with miss Elena tomorrow!" Tamaki exclaimed and Kyoya quickly wrote something down on his black notebook.

"I'm scheduling your appointment for three thirty tomorrow," he stated afterwards.

Elena raised a brow, giving the group of young men a puzzled look. "What exactly do you mean by appointment?"

Tamaki gave her a sly look, a look of determination in his eyes. "It means that you'll have Mori all to yourself tomorrow. I'm sure he'll change your mind about this club," he explained to her, giving Mori a confident smile. "Be sure to show her a good time tomorrow. Our future might depend on this Mori-senpai, don't let us down!"

To this Mori just seemed to turn a bit green.

The low chime of the clock tower informed them all that it was already five, and Elena saw her chance to finally escape. Standing up, she gave a short smile before turning away and started heading for the door.

"Well, it's been, memorable, to say the least, but I really have to be going now. Good-bye," she finished her sentence just as she reached the doors, quickly opening it.

"Miss Akiyama, would you make sure your friend finds her way here tomorrow? We wouldn't want Mori to feel unwanted considering she doesn't show," Kyoya casually asked Mariko, to which the girl giggled in delight. It looked like Elena wasn't getting out of this one.

Finally out of the music room, Elena promptly decided to put as much distance between her and the blasted place, kicking herself into a light run as she made turns blindly, hoping she'd eventually find an exit. She still had no idea how she'd find her way home but right now she didn't care.

Wandering through the many halls, the finally saw a spec of light being emitted from an archway on the far left, and without slowing down she headed towards it, having found a means outside. It wasn't the front yard, though, but what she could assume to be the garden area.

_Just my luck. I couldn't have asked for directions, could I?_

To her comfort, the garden was quite beautiful, full with carefully trimmed bushes and trees, and she couldn't help but want to take a closer look. Walking idly through the sea of green, she suddenly saw a spec of a now familiar blue, and thinking it was someone from the club, she instantly froze, debating whether or not she should show herself or not.

Low murmuring filled her ears and she realized she knew the voice, though it wasn't anyone of the host club.

"Hiya, little fella. Are you doing any better today?" the voice spoke gently as Elena tried to recall who it belonged to. She knew she'd heard it somewhere before. Finally giving into temptation, she peaked at the male high school student from behind a rose bush, her eyes taking in his hunched up form, disarray uniform, and screaming shade of red hair.

_Is that…?_

She unconsciously stepped out of her hiding spot, taking a step towards the boy, the movement causing the bush to rustle, thus alerting the boy. He turned his head within a millisecond, his face the definition of intimidating as he tried to shield whatever he was holding in his hands. Elena couldn't help but feel a little threatened by his hostile expression, but she stood her ground never the less. It was like a case of deja vu as they stared into each other's eyes.

"Aren't you the guy that helped me at the airport yesterday?" she finally broke the silence, gently asking her question as she watched the red-haired boy's expression alter slightly, changing into a slightly confused, yet recalling expression. It was still quite scary, though.

He looked like he was thinking hard how to reply to the question, ultimately shrugging his shoulders and giving her a reserved expression. "That depends who's asking."

Elena sighed. "Well, me obviously. I'm honestly really glad for your help the other day; if you wouldn't have stopped to give me directions, I might still be wandering around the airport," she confessed, a smile forming on her face. "I almost feel indebted to you."

"Um, don't worry about it," the boy reluctantly spoke up, giving her a hard look. "What're you doing here? This is a private school."

"Well, I'm a student here, though it's probably hard to tell since I'm not wearing the uniform. I had a little, accident, earlier. I think I have to buy a new one," she gave a nervous smile upon remembering her previous blundering. "I don't really like it, the uniform I mean."

The boy blinked, confusion emerging with his hostile expression. "Why are you talking to me?" he suddenly asked, giving her a wary look. "Don't you know who I am?"

Elena stared at him for a moment, pondering on how to answer his questions. Did everyone serious expect her to know him or her after just her first day?

"Well, I know you're a kind and caring person," she answered with a smile, spotting a ball of feathers in the boy's hands. "Were you talking to that bird earlier? What's wrong with it, is it hurt?" she suddenly found herself kneeling beside the boy, taking a closer look at the small bird that had it's wing bandaged.

The boy's face suddenly lit up in a brilliant shade of red, almost matching his flaming hair as he reeled further away from her, stammering something incomparable as he tried to hide the bird from her view.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you," she apologized, thinking he was angry with her. "I was just wondering whether you could possible help me. You see, I'm a little lost, to be honest."

The deep rouge began to fade as he gave her an incredulous look. After a while he opened his mouth. "You're lost again?"

Feeling a slight blush creep upon her face, she merely nodded. "Hey, it's only my first day here!" she exclaimed to her defense. "I can't seem to find my way out of here. I'd really just like to go home already."

There was a moment of silence before the boy sighed sounding defeated. "Where do you want to go?"

"The front gate. General directions will be just fine; I can see you're busy here. Oh, I have a map, here," she suddenly remembered and promptly began going through her bag, pulling out the map of the school grounds. "I'm not very good with maps."

The boy gave her a glance before pinning his eyes on the map. "Yeah, you told me that before," he remarked before pointing his finger at a certain point on the map. "You're currently here, at the gardens. The gates are here," another point on the map. "Just follow the side of the school building and you'll eventually make it to the courtyard."

Elena forced herself to remember the point he'd shown, feeling a relieved smile form on her face. "Thank you so much! I can't even begin to explain how much this means to me," she thanked him, smiling brightly. "You really are a kind person."

The boy's face began changing into the previous shade of red just as Elena stood up from her spot and began making her way towards the school building. She stopped briefly, giving him a smile. "I hope the bird gets better."

Two steps later, she was pulled to a halt by his voice. "Hey!" She turned, giving him an inquiring look. "What's your name?" he asked tentatively after a moment, face still slightly reddish.

"What's yours? I'd like to be able to thank you properly," she replied with her own question, curious to find out.

The boy thought long and hard before he spoke. "I don't want to say it," he merely stated, his reply triggering something juvenile in Elena.

"Well then, neither will I before I first hear yours. Bye, I'll see you around," she replied in a good manner before turning, quickly making her way to the gates.

/ / / / / / /

Still frozen in his place by the rose bushes, Ritsu Kasanoda stared after the girl in mute shock, wondering what had just happened. When he finally lost sight of her, he let out a discouraged sigh, refocusing his attention on the bird.

_You'd never come near me again if you knew my name._


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Hi guys, it's been awhile... Summer break wasn't much of a vacation on my part but I finally got around to writing the next chapter of Bloody Empire, hope you like it! I know it's much shorter than the last part but no can do. Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone who has so far favorited, alerted and/or reviewed this story; you mean the world to me! :)

And now for some review replies :)

Molly Grace 16: Thank you! Don't worry, we'll eventually figure out what her dad does! ;)

XpixieXsticksX: I'm so glad that you felt that way about an update! I hope you got excited about this one as well :)

angelbeets: I'm glad you found this little fic and I'm happy you like it! Hope you'll continue following it!

Senna Bluefire: Thank you, complements like yours make it worthwhile posting new chapters :)

Corrina198: I'm so glad you like the story and feel that way! I try to write stories I myself would read on Fanfiction :) Kasanoda is one of my personal favorite characters of the series and I felt there weren't enough fics about him. I hope the rest of the story is up to par with your expectations :)

* * *

Chapter 4

It turned out that the man who had drove Elena to school in the morning had come to pick her up once her scheduled lessons had ended, thus leaving him very confused about where his young mistress had gone to, having made sure not to miss her as he'd waited for her for a worryingly long time. He had been nothing short of relieved when Elena had finally walked up to the courtyard. Elena felt awful about the entire thing, trying to explain she'd made unexpected plans with a few of her classmates. That was, however, how far she was willing to take the matter.

"I'm so sorry, I meant to ask about how I was getting home when I was dropped off but you were already gone so…" she murmured in apology, feeling guilty she'd spent an absolutely un-effective afternoon at that weird club. She silently hoped that her driver worked by an hourly wage.

"The young mistress has no need to apologize, it was entirely my fault I didn't inform you sooner," the driver intercepted her in her worrying, taking full blame, and before she had a chance to argue against him, he already had her in the car, shutting the door once she was inside.

It took no time at all before they reached the house, and Elena wondered just how far the school actually was. It must've been a walking distance away. Stepping out of the car, she clung to her heavy bag as she made her way towards the pair of massive wooden doors that parted just in time so she didn't have to stop. To her slight shock, all of the men wishing her a good school day in the morning, once again filled the courtyard, creating a path towards the house. Elena stepped hesitantly past them, giving them a small, nervous smile.

"Welcome back mistress Elena! We're glad to have you back safely with us!" Tarou suddenly shouted in a booming voice, the sudden act almost causing Elena to jump out of her skin.

_Why can't they just greet me normally? A simple 'hello' would be more than enough!_

As she tried to calm her racing heartbeat, the rest of the men greeted her in a similar fashion, much to her dismay. Sighing tiredly, she gave them a quick smile nevertheless before mumbling her own 'afternoon' as she slipped inside the house.

Kemuri still appeared to be her babysitter for the day - seeing as he was waiting for her, casually leaning against a wall with his arms neatly crossed. He gave out a relatively calm and collected, almost bored demeanor, but somehow Elena could sense his slight tenseness. She could only guess how long he'd been waiting for her to return home.

Sighing, she walked past him and headed for a hallway, intending to lock herself inside her room for the rest of the day and pass out, utterly exhausted from the past few days.

A light cough interrupted her silent planning however, as Kemuri turned and gave her an apathetic look. For a moment she waited for him to say something, but as the silence pressed on she could feel her patience start to waver, growing irritated from her lack of sleep. Finally giving in, she sighed in frustration.

"Look, I had a rough day and I'm literally a walking zombie so could you please just tell me whatever's on your mind? I just want to go to bed…" she half snapped, half whined, something she wasn't all that proud of. The last thing she wanted to be acknowledged as was a generic, whiny teenager.

_Yeah, I'm doing a marvelous job at that, aren't I? _She thought sarcastically just when Kemuri made to speak.

"You are late," he told her bluntly, quirking his brow in an inquiring fashion, obviously expecting her to take the hint.

Elena sighed heavily. "A few of my classmates invited me to this club and I couldn't decline. I already apologized to the driver," she explained tiredly, sneaking a wistful glance towards the long hallway leading to her room, hoping the young man would take her hint in return.

"The master had made dinner plans with you. He was most disappointed when you didn't arrive on time," Kemuri pressed on, his tone sounding slightly grave whilst his face morphed into a displeased expression. "The master is a busy man and even taking the time to meet someone for dinner is near impossible at times."

Elena could almost feel her jaw drop. "What? How was I supposed to know about his plans? No one told me!" Elena exclaimed in frustration and slight panic, taking a few hurried steps along the hall. "I'm so sorry, I'll be ready in ten minutes."

"Forget it, he already made more important arrangements. Your dinner will be served at seven if you feel the need to eat," Kemuri told bluntly before he moved to intercept her, inclining another corridor with his hand. "Your room is more reachable through this corridor, young mistress."

Translation; you're going the wrong way.

The telltale heat began creeping onto her cheeks as she merely nodded and let him lead her back to her room, mentally bashing herself for getting lost for what seemed to be the tenth time that day. She could only hope that given enough time, she'd be able to at least navigate from her room to the front door and back. It wasn't an impossible feat, given she'd successfully memorized most of the layout of her stepfather's semi-mansion back in England.

Kemuri stopped as they reached her room, politely sliding the paper screen-door aside to let her in. Elena quietly thanked him and stepped inside the room, the door sliding back in place not long after. Finally in her room, she let her heavy bag of books and clothes drop onto the wooden floor as she made a beeline towards her bed and all but collapsed onto it, briefly enjoying the slight coolness of the sheets. She wanted nothing more than to fall asleep but upon remembering the amount of homework she'd received that day postponed her desired slumber. After her run-in with that yakuza heir, she'd decided to do whatever it took for her to stay in her current class.

Resentfully moving into a sitting position, she spared her bag an un-amused look, knowing just how much she had to do in order to stay in par with her class. Her teachers had been relatively fair on the amount of extra work she'd have to do to catch up with the rest of the class, even giving her over a month to finish everything they'd gone through already. To be honest Elena didn't know where to begin, already dreading the up-coming weeks of deadlines and exams.

Edging off from her soft sanctuary, she picked up her bag and made her way to her desk, emptying the contents of the bag reluctantly. Upon grabbing her new school uniform, she grimaced upon remembering its currently condition, absolutely sure the tea stain was there to stay. She had a hard time believing Ouran would permit students presenting themselves nothing short of perfect, and as so she would need to buy a new uniform. Wonderful.

Feeling there was nothing she could do for the still soggy dress, she tossed it into the farthest corner she could and refocused onto her schoolbooks as she tried to organize them onto the desk. She separated her 'normal' homework from the extra, placing them on either sides of the desk. Deciding to focus solemnly on the homework she was meant to return on the coming week, she grabbed the first book on her right, reluctantly diving into the painfully dry text of the history book.

/ / / / / / /

Two hours later, Elena was finally finished with all of her homework from that day, even having started on some of her extra work as well. She was nothing short of exhausted when she finally put down her pencil, having solved dozens of math equations. Kohaku had appeared behind her door at around seven and announced that dinner was ready if she was hungry – which she wasn't. She'd politely declined and after insuring she really wasn't hungry, had resumed back into her work, not wanting to lose her current mentality of getting things done.

Reaching for her timetable, she focused her gaze on the following day, going through her subjects for the day, and packing her bag accordingly. She frowned upon noticing she had mandatory flower arranging just before lunchtime, a subject she knew she didn't have to try in order to know she would be terrible at it.

She wasn't looking forward on spending her afternoon at that weird club either, remembering her 'appointment' with one of the so-called hosts. She secretly wished everyone'd forgotten about it, thus sparing her from having to show up. There was something about that place that made her feel really uncomfortable, be it how popular. She figured she would never understand her fellow female students.

Making her way to her cupboard, she began undressing and placing her clothes out of plain sight, wrapping herself in a towel as she started heading for the showering area, which she ironically knew the way to on her own. After making sure no one else was in the room, she locked the door and turned on the water, letting the warm water drench her as she made to wash herself, almost feeling the stress from the day wash right off of her while doing so. She didn't shower for long, opting to get to bed as soon as possible, and once finished, she hurried back into her room, changing into her nightwear as well as drying her hair with her towel, deciding to step outside onto her small porch for the later act.

The sun had set long ago and it was once again dark outside, though the streetlights shined brightly behind the tall wooden fence encircling the property, the light creating skewed shapes and angles in the garden in front of her. It dawned onto her that she'd yet to see it in the daylight and made a mental note to check it out on the following day. Once satisfied with her hair, she made her way back inside and slid the fusuma back in place, hanging her towel to dry on the back of her chair.

She crawled gratefully into her bed and could almost sense the moment sleep finally claimed her, slipping into a vivid dream of the day's events.

/ / / / / / /

Elena was in for a surprise on the next morning just as she was getting ready for breakfast when Kohaku appeared behind her door, carrying a rectangular box wrapped in a light golden paper.

"This was delivered this morning," he explained as he handed the box to her awaiting hands. "It was addressed to you."

Elena momentarily just stared at the box, taking in the information. It wasn't very heavy and upon shaking it nothing seemed to move around inside it. There was a small card attached to the topside, and she hesitantly reached for it, reading through the surprisingly neat handwriting.

'_Dear miss Kawamura, on behalf of the Host Club we apologize for the miss happenings of the previous day. Please accept this small gift as a token for the trouble we might have caused you. We look forward on having you visit us this afternoon. Sincerely, Kyoya Ootori._'

Elena could feel the young man's eyes on her as she felt her face warm up, Kohaku's staring not helping her embarrassed state. She gave him a hesitant look.

"Did you, by any chance… read through the card…?" she asked nervously, her eyes widening in shear horror as the young man nodded in response. "…Did anyone else read it?"

"No. Tarou handed me that box and told me to bring it to you. I figured he was the one who first got ahold of it and I know he wouldn't read through other people's mail or such. It's just that…" he paused for a moment, shifting his gaze to the floor as if ashamed, "I was curious. I didn't even realize I was reading it before I'd finished it. I'm truly ashamed by my actions and I ask for your forgiveness." At this point he had already kneeled in front of her, all but banging his head on the wooden floor as he'd lowered his head too hastily.

Elena merely stared at him like an idiot, not knowing how to respond. Her face was still flaming but she tried to latch onto the knowledge that the redhead in front of her was the only other living being in the house that'd read the card. After a moment to collect her thoughts, she finally decided to open the box, having a bad feeling about its contents. In no time at all was the paper ripped off of the box supporting the school's logo, and by then she could definitely tell what it held inside of it.

Tentatively lifting the lid, she was greeted by the sight of a sickening shade of yellow, and she quickly made to closed it, throwing the box towards her bed as if it were a Frisbee.

Realizing she was still keeping Kohaku waiting for a response, she turned to him and crossed her arms.

"For heaven's sake stop that, you don't need to bow to me. If you get up now and don't tell anyone about the contents of that card, I'll forgive you," she demanded awkwardly, feeling uncomfortable about the situation. "I'm not proud of what happened yesterday considering I wasted an entire afternoon at that pointless club while my father was waiting to take me for dinner."

Kohaku slowly got back onto his feet, giving her a hesitant look as if he was debating whether to speak or not.

"Were you referring to the Ouran High School Host Club? Even though I've never been on the Ouran grounds, I've heard about that particular club. The school's chairman's son founded it a year or so ago. They say it's popular with the female students," he spoke tentatively, pausing for a moment before continuing. "I must say I didn't think our young mistress would've been into that sort of activities."

Elena could feel her face heat up once more and she turned to glare at Kohaku with what she could imagine was a sad excuse for a hostile look.

"I'm not! Like I already explained yesterday, my classmates insisted on taking me there. I have no intentions of going back," she fumed, leaving her huffing and puffing when she'd finished.

For a moment neither of them spoke until Kohaku finally cleared his throat and made to move for the door.

"I was meant to escort you for breakfast in addition for bring the box," the sentence sounding more like a question than anything else.

Elena sighed, glancing at her alarm clock. "Give me a few minutes and I'll be ready."

/ / / / / / /

"Say, just how far is the school from the house? I get the feeling it's rather close," Elena wondered out loud, catching the driver's attention just as they cruised through the school's massive gates.

"A little under a mile. Why do you ask?" the driver replied, eying her through the mirror.

She shrugged her shoulders, the material of her dress rustling unpleasantly from the motion.

"I thought I'd walk to school someday. I don't see the need to go by car if it's that close to the house. Besides, a little exercise never hurts."

To be honest, Elena wasn't that used to be taken to school. Back in England, her mother had to leave much earlier than her in the mornings and it was up to herself to get to school on time. And even though she wasn't exactly an environmentalist, she still felt better whenever she could simply walk instead of relying on someone on take her by car.

The most obvious reason for walking, however, was that she could wear her normal clothes and change into her horrible dress later. Besides, this was her chance to get to know her neighborhood, be it just the route to school.

The driver gave her an unsure expression as he slowed down, almost at the main entrance by then.

"I don't know whether that's possible young mistress. Your father gave me instructions to drive you to school so you could sleep and get ready in your own time."

_He just doesn't want me to get lost, _she translated in her head, understanding his reasoning.

"I'll have to ask about it from him the next time I see him. He should know I'm used to getting to school on my own so I don't know why he wouldn't let me walk," she managed to say just as they stopped, the driver exiting the car in order to open the door for her; something that was beginning to annoy her slightly.

It was as if she was incapable of doing the simplest things, take for example opening a door by herself. She'd already met enough sourpuss rich kids on her first day and had decided then and there she wouldn't be molded into a helpless decoration. She flat out ignored the hand she was offered and got out on her own, taking a few steps towards the entrance before swiftly turning around.

"Oh yeah, I think I'll stay to study in the library for a while after my lessons end. Would it be possible if you come pick me up later?" she asked hopefully, almost forgetting to mention about her intentions for the afternoon. She'd taken a bit of extra homework she'd received with her in hopes of finishing it at school where her concentration was best.

The driver nodded his head.

"Of course, whatever the young mistress requires," he answered, leaving the time up to her.

She smiled, feeling slightly relieved.

"Is five pm too late? I guess I could finish earlier if needed…"

"Not at all young mistress. Have a wonderful day at school."

With another smile from her part, Elena turned and headed through the entrance, somehow managing to navigate to her first class without much trouble. Upon entering the room, she immediately saw Mariko, the girl sitting at her desk and upon seeing her, waved enthusiastically to her.

"Morning Elena," she greeted once Elena had gotten close enough, inclining an empty seat by her right with her hand. "You can sit there if you want. There's a few desks empty in this classroom so it's your pick."

Elena set her bag on said desk and took a seat, turning to face the other girl.

"Morning," she replied with her own well-mannered smile, joining in on the conversation Mariko was having with some of the other girls next to them before their teacher arrived, thus starting class.

Her first subject that day was English, which was possibly the only subject she wasn't mediocre at. Quite the opposite, she found the things gone through very easy, but it wasn't that surprising given her background. Even so, she enjoyed the feeling of keeping up with her class, be it only one subject. She had the feeling she wouldn't experience such a feeling anytime soon, especially come those blasted flower-arranging lessons.

/ / / / / / /

Elena couldn't remember the last time she was under this much pressure. She could hear the blood rush through her veins, the adrenaline roaring in her blood, ready to help her accomplish near impossible feats. Still, it seemed not even adrenaline could help her current situation. She was on her own. And all eyes were on her.

"We are waiting miss Kawamura," the dry, strained voice of her teacher drilled into her head as she stood in front of the class, hands hovering over a vase full of flowers, frantically trying to decided whether or not she should re-arrange them or not. Try as she might, she was getting nowhere, and with every doubting second she wasted, the more her teacher thought she wasn't worth spending time on. She finally cracked under the enormous pressure; grabbing the first colorful twig she could, all but tossing it to the grass. She could hear her teacher sigh in an exasperated fashion, walking up beside her to access her work.

"Congratulations miss Kawamura, you've successfully removed the only flower you had properly placed. I'm afraid you lack the eye for flower-arranging," her teacher scolded her, swiftly shooing her back to her seat.

Elena was just revealed to get out of the spotlight, quickly making her way to her seat beside Mariko. The girl gave her an apologetic smile and scooted a tad closer.

"Don't worry, the teacher doesn't particularly like anyone of us, especially if our families aren't involved in the art business. I don't exactly like this subject myself but what can you do?" she whispered, trying to hide their conversation from said teacher who was now demonstrating the proper way to pluck leaves from a rose.

The entire lesson had been an enormous embarrassment for Elena who could barely tell apart a rose and a dandelion. Given the vast garden the school had, the class was outside, and as their first assignment for the day, the students had been instructed to go pick some flowers in order to form a bouquet fit for the autumn. It was needless to say Elena's performance hadn't been all that great; scraping and dirtying the sleeves of her new dress in the process. The bunch of flowers she'd eventually ended up with quote: 'didn't fit the theme of her assignment', and once they had to arrange them into a vase, she'd gotten frowned upon for shoving in the stems all at once.

Elena sighed tiredly. She'd always liked flowers and the outdoors in general, but given her performance today she decided she'd be best off simply admiring nature's own beauty rather than trying to control which way a single damn flower pointed.

Mariko tugged lightly on her sleeve, catching her attention.

"Hey, are you excited about your appointment with Mori-sempai in the afternoon?" she asked giddily, her question attracting the attention of a few other girls near them.

"Um, well, about that…"

"What? You have an appointment with Mori? That's so unfair. I tried to request him for the afternoon but he was already taken," one of the girls moaned, giving her an inquiring look. "So, it's only your second day and already you've found the host club, huh? Don't tell me you're going to start requesting Mori every day? Up until now I've managed to see him whenever I feel like it…"

Elena's eyes widened by the direction the conversation was going, and it took all she could not to scream in horror.

"No, you got it all wrong!" she half exclaimed, half whispered, already feeling a blush creep onto her face. "I don't plan on doing anything else this afternoon than study in the library. No appointments, and certainly no requests."

Mariko eyed her doubtfully.

"But Elena, you have to go. You don't know how lucky you are for having them personally schedule you an appointment. Most girls would pay big money to be in your shoes," she pressed on, trying to persuade her to go.

Elena shifted uncomfortably in her seat, not liking the unwanted stares of the girls around her.

"Like I said, I'll be studying in the afternoon so…"

"Are you truly going to let poor Mori-sempai wait hours for you, only to finally realize you've ditched him? Can you still go off studying knowing you've hurt him like that?" Mariko breathed out in false shock, switching from persuasion to down right blackmailing.

"I-I…" Elena couldn't even finish her sentence, knowing Mariko was right. The more she tried to make up excuses to avoid the dreaded appointment, the more she felt guilty about it. If only she could figure out a way to cancel it.

"I figured you'd come to your senses," Mariko smiled, giving her a quick wink. "No worming your way out of this, got it?"

Elena forced an awkward smile, all of a sudden finding class interesting once more.

/ / / / / / /

Ritsu stared apathetically at the large clock hovering over the classroom door, sighing tiredly when he concluded he still had ten minutes of class remaining. History wasn't his best subject and the teacher definitely wasn't helping any of his class into getting a better mark, choosing to briefly go over the current matter of the lesson and then assign them a group assignment. As per usual, Ritsu was doing it alone. Sighing once more, he tried to focus back on his work.

Ritsu Kasanoda wasn't what you could say a particularly popular guy at Ouran. Actually, to be precise, he wasn't really popular anywhere. Few dared to make eye contact with him, not to mention talk to him. Even his fellow yakuza classmates were afraid of him. It was sad to admit but during the last few years, he hadn't had many friends, if any. Sure, he had the guys back at the syndicate, but other than that, Ritsu Kasanoda was lonely. Very lonely.

Contrary to common belief, Ritsu wasn't a hostile person. He knew everyone's birthdays at the syndicate and arranged them presents. He'd given Tetsuya a place to stay when he'd ran away from home. Heck, he'd even started caring for an injured bird.

Given all of this, it wasn't all that surprising he'd helped a complete stranger at the airport a few days before. He'd noticed her distress right away and stopped when others had walked on by. He could tell she was vary of him but relieved for his help.

And that alone had been enough to make it worthwhile for helping her; that was until the unthinkable happened. She'd thanked him. Talked to him. Touched him.

That night he'd thought back when the last time someone had touched him voluntarily was, and come up with nothing. The fact still bothered him.

The following day he'd attended school as per usual, and his day had been nothing short of boring and uneventful. His sole source of comfort that day had been checking on the injured bird he'd discovered on the Friday before. It had been after hours and most of the clubs had ended, giving him a perfect slot to wander into the garden. He hadn't expected there being anyone else on the school grounds that late in the day, much to his horror as someone had literally stumbled into the garden and discovered his secret.

At first glance he hadn't recognized the brown haired girl, dressed in casual clothing. It was the girl from the airport, and apparently she'd enrolled into Ouran. Ritsu had often heard of the saying 'it's a small world' but never had he actually believed in the saying. Mortified she'd laugh and tell everyone about his secret, he was surprised when she was beside him in a flash, hunching over to see the little bird. For someone who wasn't used to having people near him, Ritsu found her proximity overwhelming.

He'd given a fairly weak effort at looking intimidating in hopes of making her go away but she didn't seem to notice, much to his displeasure. What she had done, though, was start a conversation with him, revealing she was once again lost and in need of help. She wouldn't give him her name, which for some reason irritated him, but at the same time she asked for his, meaning she didn't know who he was. He didn't know whether to be revealed or insulted about the matter, finally deciding to keep her in the dark, if only to not have someone afraid of him. It was odd having someone to talk to, and he wondered whether he'd be able to talk to her again soon.

The low chime of the bell tower's bells finally ended class and he spent no time at all packing his things, making his way towards the door. His classmates gave him more room than needed, terrified of even brushing him as he made his way towards the lunchroom, trying not to notice students clearing the hallway for him. He could hear their muted whispers, calling him 'the Walking Blizzard' and other nonsense. Frowning upon realizing he still had over half of the day to go, he entered the lunchroom.

/ / / / / / /

"I'm never touching a flower again in my life."

"Oh come on Elena, you didn't do that bad. Besides, it was your first time arranging flowers," Mariko tried to lift her spirit as they made their way from the garden to the lunchroom, the lesson finally having ended.

"First and last. I'm sure the teacher won't let me attend anymore classes with the way I screwed up today," Elena mumbled through her hands, trying to hide her still pinkish face. "I can't believe I'm failing a class after two days…"

Mariko lightly tapped her back, trying to encourage her.

"Don't morn about it now, I'm sure it's not that bad. Let's see if they have anything exceptionally good for lunch today, shall we?" Mariko laced her arm around Elena's, forcing her hands away from her face.

They entered the lunchroom, heading straight for the long rows of plated food. This time Elena picked something she actually knew, that being a simple green salad, not feeling that hungry, and followed Mariko as they searched the packed lunchroom for seats. She noticed a near empty table on the far left corner of the giant room, recognizing the shade of red hair the lone person sitting behind the table sported.

"That table's almost empty, should we go sit over there?" she asked Mariko, referring to the table she'd spotted.

Mariko glanced towards the table and instantly froze, much to Elena's confusion. A mere second later Mariko turned around and grabbed Elena by her arm, all but dragging her to the opposite direction, a serious look sporting her face.

Elena stumbled behind her, trying not to trip and fall over her lunch, all the while trying to get a word out as Mariko lead her to the other side of the lunchroom, finally sitting her down on the end of a long table. Upon noticing her confused stare, Mariko scooted a tad closer, placing a hand beside her mouth as she began to whisper what she had to say.

"Take my advise on this; never ever go near that red haired boy sitting at that table. He's bad news."

Elena gave her a doubtful look, glancing back at the nice boy that had helped her not once but twice during her short stay in Japan. Was this really the same boy they were talking about?

"I don't understand. He seems nice," she murmured in slight defense as she pinned down a few lettuce leaves with her fork, lazily chewing on them as she waited for a reply.

Mariko gave her an astonished expression, as if not believing her ears.

"That's Ritsu Kasanoda, aka the Walking Blizzard. He's the heir to the most powerful yakuza gang in Kanto!" she semi-exclaimed, her words causing Elena to stop her chewing.

"What…?"

"If you thought that yakuza from yesterday was intimidating, this one's much worse. Everyone fears him, even his classmates, and their yakuza for god's sake!" Mariko spoke through her teeth, trying to keep her voice as low as possible.

Elena felt her head turn towards the red haired boy who was sitting in complete solitude, just then noticing how the students around him had pushed their chairs as far away from him as possible. Realization finally hit her as she watched him get up, his face supporting a positively ferocious glare at the people around him.

It couldn't be.

"But he… he was…" she murmured more to herself than anyone else, all of a sudden feeling rather cold.

Mariko studied Elena's ever-paling face, grasping her hand to regain her focus.

"Don't get involved with yakuza, remember? And in his case, it's best to completely avoid him if possible," she reminded her, taking note of Elena's frozen expression, knowing that particular look well. She lightly squeezed her hand, giving her an encouraging smile upon gaining eye contact.

"I know that look; he got you, didn't he? His stare I mean. It's positively freezing. That's why they call him the Walking Blizzard," she elaborated, finally letting go of Elena's hand and continuing her lunch.

Elena merely stared at the plate of salad in front of her, having lost the last of her appetite. Her mind raced a thousand miles an hour, trying to remember anything that could have foreshadowed her newest discovery.

His face. His voice. His reluctance to tell her his name…

She sucked in a much-needed breath of air, all but gasping as she remembered how to breathe again.

It dawned to her that she could've easily been killed on the day before during her encounter with the red haired yakuza heir.

"…Oh my god…"

/ / / / / / /

**A/N: **Please tell me what you thought :)


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: **I'm just as surprised as you are; only a week after the last chapter I'm already finished with the next. I almost feel accomplished or something :) Anyway, I hope you like it!

Review replies:

Molly Grace 16: I'm glad you liked the chapter! Let's hope Elena comes to her senses soon as well!

hardeehar: Here you go! :)

Extended Experience: Oh no, not Kyoya! Luckily I got around writing this chapter, huh?

XpixieXsticksX: Thank you very much! We'll see what happens between the two of them :)

Soultrancer: Not to worry, here's a new chapter!

* * *

Chapter 5.

As the bell tower's bell rang three times indicating the school day was at an end, Ritsu slowly got up from his seat, packing his things ever so slowly as he waited for most of his classmates to exit the room. It had already morphed into somewhat of a habit for him to linger in the room for a while longer, just long enough for most of the students to exit the school building, in order to avoid clashing into him in the process. Once he was certain the largest wave of students had passed, he exited the room and started to make his way towards one of the exits leading to the gardens, intending to go see how the bird was doing.

As usual, the remaining students along the way all but pressed themselves against the walls upon seeing him, much to his annoyance. Maybe it was time for him to just admit that he'd never be treated normally at school. He frowned, unintentionally causing his face to look menacing, realizing his mistake only once the students near him froze in mid-step. He cursed his slip up, trying to drain any emotion he felt from his face.

Ritsu had always had a mean looking face, a feature his father had been most pleased about. He managed to look angry no matter what he felt, especially whenever he frowned. He'd made a conscious effort to keep a rather blank face while in school but every now and again he had a few slip ups, thus giving the students all the confirmation they needed in believing he was a heartless mobster out for their heads.

He'd slipped up not once but twice that day; the first being at lunch as he'd silently realized he'd probably never be able to share lunch with someone; once again having been left to eat alone. He was at a loss as to why his face betrayed him after almost a month of a near apathetic mask. It was probably because of that injured bird he'd found last Friday; it must've caused him to once again acknowledge he'd never have human friends.

Still making his way towards his destination, he was just about to make a turn on the next corner when he spotted a familiar shade of dark brown hair, turning his attention to the foreign girl who'd discovered his secret in the gardens on the day before. She was walking with another girl he didn't recognize, sporting an unsure smile as the other explained something in an excited fashion. It dawned to him that she was probably the only person he'd ever have a chance to befriend, given he wouldn't tell her his name or anything else about himself.

Yeah, it was probably too much to ask.

Not noticing he'd been staring at the two girls, the other suddenly raised her gaze and briefly locked eyes with him, causing her to freeze in place. He noticed how she grabbed the foreign girl's arm to pull her to a stop, mouthing something he couldn't make out. The brown haired girl's expression turned blank as she slowly turned to look at him.

He knew right away that she knew, even before she turned a ghostly shade of white. She knew who he was. What he was.

And she was afraid of him. Just like everyone else.

He didn't know why the fact seemed to hurt him more than usual.

Gritting his teeth, he turned and quickly continued making his way to the gardens, heading straight for the place he'd hid the injured bird. Upon lifting the lid of the box he'd placed the bird in, he was slightly shocked by the way the bird acted, letting out a frightened chirp as it hopped to the other end of the box. He instantly knew his face had betrayed him, cursing silently in his mind as he tried to calm down and regain control of his facial muscles. The bird seemed to calm down enough for him to check on it's progress, and as he carefully examined it, he knew the bird really didn't have much to do with his sudden mood swings and inability to control his emotions.

/ / / / / / /

"I wonder what kind of tea they're serving today at the club… Oh, I hope they have some delicious biscuits to go along with the tea," Mariko blabbered on and on as she and Elena made their way towards the Host Club, much to Elena's displeasure. She'd genuinely wanted to spend the afternoon studying but alas Mariko had sent her on a guilt trip, all but forcing her to tag along for her 'appointment'.

Elena cringed her nose, not liking the sound of the word and its implications. She could only hope it wasn't going to last long, given she only had a certain amount of time before her driver was going to pick her up.

"Last time they had marvelous citrus cake to go along with the tea and I'm telling you it was to die for. I wonder whether I'll be able to get an appointment with someone today; I'd hate to miss on all the action between you and-" Mariko's monologue suddenly stopped and Elena vaguely realized she'd stopped dead in her tracks, effectively pulling her to a stop as well.

She made to ask what she was up to when her intentions were interrupted by Mariko's words.

"He's glaring at us…"

Confused, Elena looked in the general direction Mariko was and froze, her eyes fixed on the crimson shade of hair the yakuza sported, his glare positively heart-stopping, and not in a good way. A sudden thought came up in her mind, regarding the previous day. She'd obviously caught him at a vulnerable moment, having literally stumbled into his secret. He was probably planning on how he should deal with her, or more so, dispose of her.

Gulping, she could only stare at him in rising panic as his face briefly let down the menacing expression, changing into a completely different one. He turned, though, before she could make out what he was actually feeling, relieved to have the weight of his eyes off of her nevertheless.

Mariko shifted slightly beside her, placing one hand on her heart as she took an audible breath of air.

"That was probably the most terrifying thing that's ever happened to me, I swear he's out for blood," she murmured more likely to herself than anyone else, giving Elena an inquiring expression. "Tell me you haven't gotten on his bad side," she demanded to know in a serious voice. "Because I for one haven't even gone near him all semester."

Elena could only lightly turn her head indicating 'no' as she stared at the corner the yakuza heir had disappeared to, feeling her heart pound in her chest. She momentarily thought about mentioning her previous run-ins with the young man, but decided against it. Who was she to give out information on someone she didn't know to begin with. She certainly didn't want to place the final nail on her coffin by letting others know yakuza were able to act selflessly once and awhile.

Mariko let out a sigh, simultaneously glancing at the clock tower, her brows shooting towards her hairline.

"What? I didn't know it was already that late… Come on Elena, we have to hurry or you'll be late for your appointment!" she exclaimed, pulling Elena into a brisk walk as she began to guide her to the third music room, all of a sudden returning back into her old gushing self, as if she'd never been stared down by a fearsome yakuza.

Now forced into concentrating on keeping on her feet rather than worry about her second yakuza run-in, Elena could feel the familiar feeling of distain return as she thought about what was to come, reluctantly following Mariko's lead. She briefly wondered whether she should break free and go kick the red haired yakuza if only to avoid going to that weird club.

/ / / / / / /

"Ah, miss Kawamura, I was beginning to worry you wouldn't be joining us today," Kyoya greeted Elena as she reluctantly made her way to what she could only describe as the reception area, Mariko having stopped to briefly chat with one of her friends soon after they'd stepped inside the music room, leaving Elena on her own.

She merely nodded in reply, not sure she'd be able to control her mouth on the matter.

Kyoya gave her a quick once over, a fixed smile on his face. "I'm glad to see our package arrived on time," he mused lightly, referring to her attire.

Elena had to shift her gaze somewhere else in order not to show the spectacled young man a rather unattractive expression, trying to come up with a more polite reply than 'I could've just worn the stained one'.

"Yeah, I received it this morning. Thanks," she ended up saying, finally able to face him with a semi-forced smile.

If the older boy noticed the change in her demeanor, he didn't let it show as he turned to glance at his right, referring to one of tables in that direction.

"Your table is this way, miss Kawamura. Mori has been waiting for you," he informed her in a fairly monotonous, yet pleasant voice as he began to lead her to said table.

Elena followed him, somehow feeling like an obedient dog as they maneuvered past other tables, sofas and chairs. Even though the club hadn't been open for more than ten minutes, the grand room was already almost packed; dozens of females students waiting giddily for their time with the hosts. Amongst the sea of yellow dresses Elena could clearly spot the odd blue suit the male students wore, the young men already busy entertaining their guests. The chairman's son waved at her enthusiastically from across the room, and feeling embarrassed, Elena pointedly ignored him, much to Kyoya's silent amusement.

They finally stopped beside an empty round table, Kyoya pulling the other of the two chairs out from under the table, waiting patiently for Elena to sit. She hesitantly sat down, momentarily thinking he'd pull the chair out right from under her. She was luckily spared from such humiliation as Kyoya pushed the chair more towards the table when she was about to sit, pouring her a cup of steaming hot tea when she was finally seated.

"Your host will be with you in a moment, miss Kawamura. In the mean time you're free to try our most recent find; a raspberry flavored tea imported from Europe," he informed her, giving her one last smile before taking his leave.

Elena stared after him and once he disappeared from her sight, she glanced at the red liquid she'd been poured, eyeing it skeptically. Picking up the cup, she carefully sniffed the tea, lightly blowing on it before taking an experimental taste, deciding it was okay, despite a tad too sweet for her liking. As she took another sip of her tea, a tall figure suddenly appeared in front of her, momentarily startling her before she realized it was only 'her host'.

Takashi Morinozuka eyed her silently for what seemed to be an eternity before he moved to take a seat in the vacant chair opposite to Elena. He didn't say anything, just pouring himself a cup of the same tea, beginning to sip on it as Elena hesitantly glanced at him before returning to her own cup of tea.

For the next five or so minutes neither of them spoke, both fixed on enjoying their tea. Elena kept on wondering whether she should say something to break the ever-thickening silence, trying to come up with something intelligible to talk about. She was embarrassingly bad at small talk, hardly ever needing it in the first place. She'd long since realized all of the other tables kept on far more interesting conversations than she'd ever come up with, and the pressing silence was beginning to unnerve her.

She drowned the last of her tea and placed the cup back onto the small plate, feeling nervous after having finished the liquid, feeling pressured into starting a conversation without having her former distraction to depend on. To her surprise as she stared at her empty teacup, it suddenly filled with the same red liquid, and after raising her gaze she noticed that her silent companion had taken the liberty in pouring her more tea. To be honest she didn't think she'd be able to drink more of the sweet tea but she was revealed for the distraction, gladly accepting it.

"Thank you," she murmured quietly as she reached for the cup, glancing at the young man in the process.

Mori hummed, the sound low and short as he made to pour some for himself as well. Silence took over and after another five or so minutes Elena was at her breaking point. She'd reached her tea-intake of the day after the first cup, now feeling sick to her stomach as she tried to force the remaining liquid down her throat. She watched in horror as Mori made to pour her some more as her cup emptied, and she quickly placed her hand on top of the cup.

"No, there's no need to re-fill my cup, I couldn't drink anymore even if I wanted to," she said quickly, effectively stopping her quiet host. She sighed, once again feeling pressured into speaking. "Look, I don't mean to be impolite or anything but this is my first time at a club like this, well, not counting yesterday that is…" she started hesitantly, awkwardly trying to explain her situation. "What I mean to say is, I'm not accustomed to this," she gestured to him, the table and her surroundings, "so I'm afraid I don't know what you expect of me. Am I supposed to decide what we talk about or should I just not talk at all? Is there some etiquette I should be aware of?"

Mori just stared at her for a moment as if trying to decide how to answer her questions in a way that wouldn't embarrass her. For a brief moment Elena thought he wouldn't even answer, considering he hadn't been much of a talker.

"I expected you wouldn't come," he suddenly spoke, his voice a low baritone, momentarily stopping to let her consider his words, seeing her surprised expression. "You didn't seem comfortable here yesterday and it wasn't your choice to arrange this appointment."

"It was pretty obvious, wasn't it," Elena replied with a sigh, hesitating whether or not to confirm his assumptions of her not showing up. "To be honest you weren't totally off about your assumption; I actually considered canceling," she confessed, glancing at the tall host from under her lashes, wondering how he would react. "Mariko was the one to convince me that I should come."

Mori didn't even move a muscle as he continued to sit quietly, much to Elena's frustration. She involuntarily let her eyes wander around the room, finally landing on a clock. Her heart nearly sank when she realized she'd spent almost an hour merely sitting quietly when she could've been doing her homework. She sighed in frustration, the act causing Mori to finally speak.

"No one is forcing you to stay here for the rest of the afternoon. You can leave whenever you feel like it," he stated, his words catching Elena's attention.

She gave him an inquiring look, not sure if she'd understood him right. She could just up and leave?

"If you don't mind, I really should get going. I was planning on getting some homework done," she said cautiously, and once the quiet host nodded to assure her he was fine with it, she made to stand up, Mori doing the same.

She instantly guessed he was probably going to walk her to the door, holding up her hands as he made to take a step towards her.

"I can find myself out," she stated quickly, giving him a nervous smile. "Thank you for the company." With that, she turned around, making her way back to the doors. She wove her way around the various tables and chairs, trying not to catch too much attention as she made her grand escape.

"Miss Kawamura," Kyoya stopped her just as she was about to reach the doors, walking up to her as he did.

Elena cursed her luck, turning around to acknowledge the young man. He had once again plastered a smile on his face, carrying his notebook and pen as he stopped a few feet away from her.

"You're leaving so soon?" he asked the obvious question, simultaneously writing something in his notebook. "I hope you found Mori's company appealing."

Elena felt a light blush start to cover her face as she struggled for the right words.

"Yes, he was nice," she forced out an answer, glancing at the table clock positioned on a nearby coffee table. "I'm sort of running late," she continued, the urgency ringing in her voice as she turned back to the spectacled boy.

"Of course. Shall I book you another appointment for tomorrow or perhaps next week? We would be glad to have you back," he inquired, already going through his notebook, much to Elena's horror.

She quickly shook her head from side to side, indicating 'no'.

"No, there's no reason for that," she breathed out simultaneously, turning to the door as she reached for the handle. "It's been nice but I really have to be going now, bye!" she said in a hurry, the words coming out quicker than she'd intended them to before she opened the door and promptly slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Once outside, she made a mad dash along the hallway towards the nearest corner, hoping to hide from anyone who might have followed her outside. The only thing on her mind at the moment was to get to the library and she didn't want any more distractions, having fulfilled her end of the deal to attend her 'appointment'.

She could hear the handle of the door being pushed down and she desperately tried to make it around the corner, dreading to have anything to do with the club. She could feel a sigh of relief exit her as she made it past the corner, only to end up crashing into someone, knocking them both onto the floor; the male high school student landing on his back a few feet away from her.

She cursed she carelessness, rubbing her sore nose, having hit it against his chest. She could hear his complaints as well, feeling beyond embarrassed and ashamed about her actions.

"I'm terribly sorry, this was all my fault! I should've walked and none of this woul-…" she started to apologize as she made to glance at the boy she'd crashed into, nervous on how he'd react, when she saw his crimson red hair, instantly forgetting how to speak as all the air gushed out of her lungs.

She watched in terror as Ritsu Kasanoda mumbled curses under his breath, his right hand gripping the back of his head as he lifted his gaze from the floor, his face twisted into a simply heart-stopping expression as he glared at her for what seemed like an eternity.

She'd done it now; she'd pissed off the most dangerous person in her school, and only on her second day. Talk about her luck… If he'd had earlier doubts whether to kill her or not, he most certainly wouldn't anymore.

Slowly, the anger his expression held seemed to fade away, leaving behind a slightly confused and doubtful look. Ritsu seemed to focus his eyes on a tile in front of him as he opened his mouth.

"It's okay. I'm fine so…" he mumbled, glancing quickly at her before returning his eyes to the floor. "You hurt?" he asked after a moment, much to Elena's surprise.

"I-… I'm okay," she answered after she forced herself to open her mouth. She still couldn't seem to move, her eyes locked on the young man before her as she waited for something morbid to happen.

She kept her eyes on his form as he slowly got up and paused for a moment, before slowly – almost hesitantly – offering her a hand. Her brows shot up from surprise as she stared at his large hand, still hovering over her. She wondered whether this would be the end of her, a sudden image of him pulling her into an empty room to strangle her popping up in her mind.

She kept her hands firmly near her body as the seconds pressed on. After a moment Elena finally dared to raise her gaze, her eyes pinning onto his face. She noticed he wasn't looking at her, keeping his eyes on the floor, as his face grew steadily redder by the second. The hand he'd offered her was now shaking slightly and she could only assume he'd shortly let it fall.

Seeing his inner struggle made her have a change of heart as she realized he wasn't out to get her. He was merely trying to help her back onto her feet. Ever the gentleman, no doubt.

And with every passing second she made him wait, the more she was making him embarrassed.

She abruptly grabbed his hand, the act making his whole body jerk slightly as he turned to face her, a look of pure surprise on his face. He gently pulled her onto her feet, his hand seeming giant compared to hers as they stood across from another, hands still linked. She studied the baffled look on his face, figuring he must've thought she wouldn't accept his help. It dawned to her this was already the third time he'd helped her.

_He couldn't truly be a heartless yakuza, could he? He's just… too kind._

The thought lingered in her head as she watched Ritsu's face slowly turn into a bright shade of red, and she finally realized she was still clasping his hand. As if having been burned, she let go of his larger hand, bringing her own to her chest, feeling embarrassed.

"Thank you," she managed to mutter out, not even daring to raise her eyes from his chest, where they'd fallen after having letting go of his hand.

He shifted his weight from one leg to the other as he brought a hand up to rub the back of his head in an awkward fashion.

"Yeah, no problem," he replied, nervously glancing between her and the wall next to them. "So, ugh, I guess you found out my name on your own, huh?" he suddenly stated, though it sounded more like a question than anything.

Elena instantly felt herself tense up, memories of previous happenings flooding her head. For a brief moment she'd almost forgotten about his true nature.

_The Walking Blizzard… I can't deny he's beyond terrifying but he seems to have calmer moments as well. And I'd imagine me still being alive is enough proof that he isn't all bad… _

Clinging to that though, she raised her eyes to meet his gaze, lightly nodding her head.

"One of my classmates… informed me on the matter," she wound herself around the question, deciding to leave out exactly who it'd been.

"Are you afraid?"

"I-…" she began, pausing as she tried to figure out how to find the right words.

Yes. Completely petrified. Beyond terrified.

_But after everything he's done for me_…

"Miss Kawamura? Are you still here?" another voice suddenly questioned, causing Elena to freeze. She knew that voice; it was Kyoya's. He'd come after her, much to her horror.

She gave a morbid look towards the red haired boy mere feet away, suddenly realizing the severity of her situation. She could not be seen with this boy, or any yakuza for the matter. Acting quickly, she locked her eyes on her school bag, still lying on the floor, instantly grabbing it upon spotting it. Then she ran, leaving a disappointed and confused yakuza heir behind her.

/ / / / / / /

The situation itself had been quite difficult for Ritsu to comprehend in the first place. He'd been on his way from the gardens to the main entrance, when suddenly he'd seen a yellow and brown flash. He'd ended up finding himself on the ground, having been knocked over thoroughly, managing to hit his head in the process. Cursing his already crummy day, he was just about to let loose a few chosen words when he'd heard her apologize. He'd instantly recognized her voice.

He concluded that during some point in his life, he must've managed to royally piss off someone above, now placing him in a situation such as this.

The girl suddenly stopped talking altogether, and he didn't have to guess twice for the reason. Once he pinned his eyes on her form, he could tell she wasn't exactly overjoyed to see him. She looked so small lying there on the floor; hair messy and her dress in wrinkles, eyes frightfully large, full of terror.

He felt his anger demolish as he stared at her, feeling almost sorry for her.

He'd rarely been this close to a girl before, let alone this long, unconsciously taking advantage of the situation to study her facial features. Her foreign blood was shockingly prominent in her features, looking more like a European than anything, though her Asian heritage wasn't hard to spot either. Her hair was a rich shade of dark brown, the slightly wavy – though a little messy – hair framing her face, reaching to her lower back. Her eyes were a peculiar shade of blue, one that he hadn't seen before. All in all, to sum her up…

_She's really beautiful…_

The thought lingered in his mind for a moment before it finally sunk in, his face heating up upon his discovery. He instantly let his eyes fall from her face, pinning them on one of the floor tiles as if his life depended on it. He could feel his heart beating in his chest and his breathing was surprisingly more labored than usual.

He had to figure a way out of the situation. And for god's sake he could feel her eyes on him!

He suddenly remembered what she'd said earlier, opening his mouth as he tried to lighten the tension of the foreign situation.

"It's okay. I'm fine so…" he managed to force out before running out of words to say.

He cursed his inability to talk to people, much less the opposite sex. During his years of being trained into a yakuza boss, he'd never had to keep up a conversation with a woman before. All of the fellas back at the syndicate were, well, men, and he found it a thousand times easier to talk to them than girls.

He momentarily glanced at her, seeing she was still staring at him, before dropping his eyes back down. Feeling awkward, he asked the obvious question, having seen her rub her nose earlier.

"You hurt?" he managed to choke out, surprised his voice sounded relatively firm and confident.

After her answer, they merely sat there; both unmoving as the seconds ticked on by. Ritsu was beginning to feel a little stupid just lying on the floor as if he was as infant waiting to be picked up. He began to slowly pick himself back up again, momentarily wondering whether he should just leave. Glancing at the girl's small form spread across the floor, he felt a pang of guilt for even considering such a thing, and offered her a hand, careful not to frighten her as he did.

For the longest time she just stared at his hand, seemingly not even breathing, as though a cornered animal. He was beginning to feel more and more embarrassed by the moment, starting to wonder whether the gesture had been a good idea. He could feel his arm start to shake from his nervousness, briefly wondering if he should just back off from the cautious girl when suddenly he felt her hand grab ahold of his.

The sensation of her touch was unlike nothing he'd experienced before; her grip so gentle and frail compared to the members of yakuza he was more familiar of shaking hands with. He couldn't hide the shock and surprise on his face as he lifted his eyes from the floor to look at her; her expression having changed from terrified to an anticipating one.

He steadied his body and found the right amount of strength to pull her up as gently as he could. She kept on looking at him, her intense bluish eyes studying his face as she stood her ground, keeping a firm hold of his hand.

_Her hand is so soft…_

Feeling his face turn hotter by the moment, he witnessed as the girl suddenly let go of his hand, bringing hers to her chest, her eyes dropping from his face, much to his relief. She muttered out a thank you and he choked out corresponding fraises. Switching glances between her and the wall, he concluded his previous speculation of her knowing just who he was were most likely true, and finding the need to say something, he opened his mouth.

"So, ugh, I guess you found out my name on your own, huh," he voiced out, feeling the sudden need to mentally roll his eyes at the comment. It was painfully obvious anyway. Nevertheless, he waited for her reply, or more so hoped she would.

He watched as different emotions washed over her face before she raised her eyes back to his and confirmed his assumptions.

"Are you afraid?" he asked without thinking, once again cursing his stupidity. But for some reason, he wanted to hear it from her, wishing he hadn't interpreted her reactions correctly. She was, as he knew, one of the last people at the school that he had a chance to befriend.

She was about to answer when suddenly someone called out a name he'd never heard before, causing the girl to freeze for a moment, her expression horrified, and then in a matter of seconds, she had grabbed her discarded school bag before she ran down the corridor as if her life depended on it.

Her reaction stung Ritsu as he could merely stare after her. Well, at least he had his proof now.

As he bend over to pick up his bag, a black haired boy emerged from behind the corner, his eyes focusing on Ritsu for a moment as he made to push his glasses further up his nose. Ritsu could tell the boy knew him but oddly enough stood his ground as he turned to face him, a ghost of a smile plastered to his face.

"By any chance did a brown haired girl happen to pass you?" he asked in a monotonous voice, his gaze not wavering even after Ritsu slightly narrowed his eyes.

"What's it to you?" he inquired, keeping his voice firm.

"I was only going to give her an invitation to the Host Club's fantasy themed afternoon next week, but seeing as I missed her I'll just have her friend deliver it to her," he stated as he turned back around, making his way around the corner. "Besides, after today's appointment with Mori, I'm confident she'll return."

Ritsu suddenly realized this spectacled boy somehow knew the foreign girl, oddly feeling a slight jolt of jealousy as he hurried after the boy, catching him just before he entered one of the rooms.

"Hey!" he called after him, effectively stopping the black haired teen. "You know her? The transfer student?" he more so accused than asked, receiving a knowing smile from the spectacled boy.

"What's it to you?" he asked almost wickedly, mimicking Ritsu's words from before.

Ritsu hesitated for a spilt second before letting the question roll off his tongue.

"What's her name?"

/ / / / / / /

Kyoya marveled how his little search for Elena had brought him face to face with the yakuza heir feared by even his own classmates. He, of course, had nothing to worry about; his family employed a private police force of their own and he only needed to push a single button to alert them, should he need to. So, naturally, he wasn't intimidated by the boy with a face only a mother could love.

From what Kyoya had picked up from Ritsu and Elena's conversation, he knew for a fact that the red haired teen had an interest in her, something he'd made a mental note of remembering. It was an interesting piece of information and he already wondered how he could hold it against the yakuza, given he ever needed to.

The boy's careless reaction and questions almost made him pity him for almost flat out telling him the red head was nothing short of desperate for answers.

He smirked briefly as he merely opened the unused music room's door, leaving the boy without an answer.

If there was anything Kyoya had learned during his life, it was that knowledge was power. He firmly believed in the saying.

Making his way towards the table hosted by the twins, he easily found Mariko Akiyama, the girl accompanying Elena for the time being. He walked up to the table, smiling apologetically at the guests as he interrupted their conversation.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you like this but I was wondering whether miss Akiyama could possibly give this to miss Kawamura. She managed to leave before receiving it," he explained, giving the letter to Mariko in the process. "I, of course, also bare invitations for all of you as well," he continued, handing out half a dozen letters more. "They're only a thousand yen a piece," he smiled as the girls gasped at the opportunity to be invited, already digging out their wallets.

"Sure thing Kyoya-sempai, I'll give it to her first thing tomorrow," Mariko chirped, tucking the letters in her bag.

Kyoya smiled pleasantly, thanking the girl before making his way to other tables, having more invitations to sell.

/ / / / / / /

In the end Elena hadn't had much luck in getting any homework done, her thoughts running too wild for her to fully concentrate on anything. She left the library feeling drained, her feet working on autopilot as she made her way to the courtyard. Her ride was already waiting for her and she couldn't even protest when the driver opened the door for her.

The ride home was as quick as she remembered, and she was once again greeted by nearly every one of her father's men, albeit not as audibly as before, much to her relief. Kemuri escorted her to her room again and after a brief change of words, he left her to herself.

Elena's evening went by doing homework and eating a small dinner before she felt she couldn't stay awake anymore. After showering, she went straight to bed in hopes of falling asleep as quickly as possible. Sadly though, while her mind had had other things to focus on whilst doing her homework, it now ran wild, going through the experiences she'd gone through during the day, somehow continuing to focus more and more on a certain red haired boy.

She let out a grown as she thought about him, thinking back at his final question. Was she afraid of him? Would have someone asked her that two days ago, the answer would have been a no. Yesterday, still a no.

Today on the other hand?

She'd went from not fearing him to down right being terrified of him all during lunch, yet after her literal run-in with him in the afternoon, she wasn't that sure anymore.

Elena sighed, shaking her head as she tried to clear her head. Honestly, it didn't really matter what she thought of him. He was a yakuza, and she couldn't be associated with him.


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Hi everyone! So, it took me longer this time to get the next chapter finished but nevertheless it's finally here. Initially I'd written even more to this chapter but in the end I decided to move it to the next chapter (which is almost finished, by the way). I hope you all like this chapter! Please tell me what you think :)

Review replies:

Extended Experience: Well, thank god I'm updating! I'd hate to keep Honey from his sugar… *shivers*

Soultrancer: Yes, I'd hate to even imagine what the twins would have done; they'd probably make life a living hell for both Ritsu and Elena o.O Anyway, thank you so much, (I try to make Elena act as realistically as one could in anime…). I'm sorry it wasn't another quick update but I hope you like this chapter all the same :)

Molly Grace 16: Even though this is just the product of my imagination, I still like to make all my OCs somewhat realistic regarding their actions, feeling and so on. Elena's basically alone in an unfamiliar country, so I thought it would be natural for her to cling to the few people she knew. We'll see whether she's brave enough to act on her own.

FindMeInTheRice: Thank you! I try to write stories that I myself would read and it's wonderful hearing that others like them as well :)

Kaitana08: After all Ritsu's been through, he deserves a lot of love. It amazes me that there aren't many fics about him, let alone longer ones. Thank you, I'll try my best!

* * *

Chapter 6.

As soon as Elena stepped into her classroom on the following day, she found herself face to face with an ivory white envelope, held by an ominously giddy-looking Mariko. Elena already regretted getting up out of bed that morning, having had stayed up fairly late on the night before, in effort to study more. Thanks to her pointless dawdling at the host club yesterday afternoon, she was already falling behind on her homework, not to mention her extra work.

Very hesitantly, Elena stretched her hand out and grabbed ahold of the envelope, giving her classmate a speculative look.

"What's this?" she asked unsurely, not knowing whether or not she actually wanted to know. She already had a bad feeling about it. It had to be the ivory that gave it away; there was just something sinister about it.

Mariko rolled her eyes but grinned nevertheless, turning around the letter in Elena's hands, her finger pointing at the golden text etched on the front of the envelope.

"The Host Club is organizing a tea tasting afternoon for specific guests and guess who two got invited?" she almost sang, her voice ringing in the large classroom. "Kyoya had meant to give you your invitation yesterday but he said you disappeared all of a sudden…" Mariko trailed off, as if pondering a reason for the action before her eyes lit up, seeming to have remembered something. "That reminds me; how did your appointment with Mori-sempai go?" she inquired slyly, much to Elena's displeasure.

She fidgeted with her envelope and postponed the task of shoving it into her bag, suddenly feeling the overwhelming need to find her hardcover calendar and place the piece of paper inside it to prevent it from wrinkling.

She could feel Mariko's eyes on her as she struggled to figure out something to say.

"Well… It went… okay. I guess," she finally said, her answer obviously not being enough for the other girl who seemed both disappointed and slightly annoyed.

"Okay? Just okay? You had him all to yourself for the entire afternoon and you left after an hour! What happened?" Mariko pressed on, simultaneously guiding Elena to her seat. "He didn't do anything ungentlemanly, did he? Or was it because he didn't say much? You know he isn't much of a talker."

Elena sighed mentally. At first she'd been happy to have Mariko as a guide/friend, but now after a couple of days knowing her, she'd concluded that the girl really didn't seem to care or understand that she'd rather not talk about some things, for example the Host Club.

"No, he was nothing less than a gentleman. But like I already told you yesterday, I had a bunch of homework to finish for the day, so after a few cups of tea I left."

She received a pointed look from the other girl.

"Really Elena, homework? If it had been me, I would've stayed for the entire afternoon and told my homework to give it a rest."

This time Elena actually sighed, turning so in her seat that she was facing forward, their teacher having just entered the room. She quickly placed the envelope between a few pages of her calendar before effectively squishing the ivory piece of paper as she shut the calendar, shoving it back into her bag. She could still feel Mariko's eyes on her and she tried to ignore her, pretending to be at least somewhat fascinated about the dull announcements their teacher was informing them about.

"So, you are coming next week, right Elena?" Mariko whispered beside her, her question causing Elena to glance at her.

_Absolutely not. Never again. You couldn't pay me enough to go back!_

The answer seemed so simply; the short, two-letter word hanging on her tongue as she opened her mouth, but before she could even answer, Mariko cut her off.

"Because you know, anyone who's anyone has been invited and it wouldn't make a good impression to decline," she whispered through her teeth, her expression serious as she waited for a reply.

Elena nearly choked on her answer as she frantically tried to reconsider her reply. She should have known there was a catch, and trust Mariko to be the one to tell her. To be honest the whole thing really shouldn't matter to her; after all, she wasn't sure how long she'd even stay with her father in Japan, much less attend the academy. She didn't have the slightest idea how she of all people could even be described as 'anyone who's anyone', especially in a school such as Ouran. She was beginning to consider the possibility that her father was either a millionaire or Mariko had just made it all up in order to pressure her in going.

Much to her own disappointment, she was beginning to feel the pressure get to her, effectively changing her answer. Cursing mentally, she finally got around answering her classmate.

"What day was it?" she sighed feeling defeated, her question causing Mariko to smirk. The girl looked far too pleased with herself.

"It's on Wednesday after the lessons end. I promise you Elena, you're not going to be disappointed!" she exclaimed as loudly as she could in her semi-whispering before she turned to face their teacher, instantly focused on the class.

Elena sighed, trying to do the same but found the task of focusing on the equations written down on the board overwhelmingly challenging, her mind lingering on the ivory colored invite in her bag.

/ / / / / / /

To her relief Mariko had to attend an event with her family after school, and with no one dragging her around to that strange club, Elena quietly made her way to the nearest library in the school building. Ironically, she seemed to be heading just the opposite direction compared to most of the other students, especially the girls; no doubt heading for the third music room.

The library she ended up in was nearly empty with only a handful of students either searching for books or reading. Elena easily found an empty table and sat down, placing her bag next to her as she pulled out her history book. Her teacher had kindly informed her class of an upcoming exam and considering the amount of material that she still hadn't finished, she was in dire need of getting at least some progress with her extra work.

Even though the thought of failing her first exam loomed in her mind, she still found it hard focusing on the small print describing ancient Grecian politics. She'd had a fairly exhausting day with subjects like mathematics, history and French, as well as having to have acted excited for the coming Wednesday. Mariko had talked on and on about some of the other girls that would be attending the Host Club's tea tasting event, the names and family histories of the students going straight through Elena's brain as she utterly failed to remember any one of them.

She was starting to get irritated with herself. Where was the girl who had absolutely refused to attend the boarding school of her stepfather's choice, refusing to be molded into 'a true lady'? Since when had she changed herself to fit in?

She snorted mentally as she turned another page of her book. It was beyond ironic that she would end up in a posh school on the other side of the world and actually make an effort to get people to like her. Or maybe in her case, try to blend into the mass, not wanting to stand out like a sore thumb. Which she probably was, no doubt.

Before her year of homeschooling, Elena and her mother had moved fairly frequently; having enrolled into three schools a year at the most. She'd always been aware of the fact that their living arrangements weren't that stable and after awhile she'd completely stopped trying to make friends at her new schools. After all, she'd only end up saying goodbye to them eventually. She wasn't sure what propelled her into trying this time; maybe it was the fear of being alone in an unfamiliar country?

Be what it will, she didn't particularly dislike having people to talk to either. Sure, Mariko was beginning to become slightly overwhelming at times, and half of the people the girl introduced to her were either snobby or characterless dolls, Elena had to admit that it was better than the past few years in England where she'd largely been alone.

She felt herself frown upon remembering her late childhood, shaking her head in hopes of getting her thoughts in order, forcing herself to focus on her homework.

After an hour of relentless studying she finally gave up for the day, figuring she didn't have enough energy at the moment to fully register what she even wrote down. Placing her things back into her bag, she glanced towards the large grandfather clock standing proudly beside the librarian's desk, her mood falling slightly as she noticed she still had half an hour before her driver would pick her up. She got up from her seat and pushed the chair back under the table, making her way towards the door, wondering how she should spend the remainder of her time.

_I'm definitely not going near the Host Club, that's for sure…_

Once outside the library, she continued her way to the right, walking along the corridor aimlessly as if she were on a casual Sunday stroll. She went down a floor, slowly walking down the steps as she took in her surroundings, finding them oddly familiar. Without much thought, she started heading towards the gardens, deciding to walk about for awhile before she was picked up.

She'd seen numerous mysterious types of flowers and trees while on her flower arranging lesson but hadn't had the time to examine them more closely, given she'd had an assignment. Now it seemed she had all the time in the world as she slowly walked past the various bushes and small ornamental trees, admiring the rich colors and delicate pieces of flora. She was careful not to touch them, still having a few battle scars from her earlier lesson.

Making her way deeper into a semi-maze crafted out of rosebushes, she was completely in her thoughts before it was too late. She suddenly heard a familiar voice, the low baritone nearly causing her heart to stop as she made her way around one of the corners, ending up mere meters away from the red haired yakuza.

As per usual, Ritsu's face was molded into a scowl as he fixed his eyes on her, his glare challenging her own. Elena felt as though time had stopped and she found herself unable to move a single muscle as she waited anxiously for something to happen. Very slowly, she could see the yakuza's expression soften slightly and he finally turned his gaze to a nearby bush, allowing Elena to get in a much-needed breath of air. For the longest time neither of them did or said anything; making Elena more conscious about her breathing and heartbeat with every passing second. It made her feel uneasy.

It seemed as though the silence was getting to Ritsu as well as he turned his eyes back to Elena, his expression vary as he opened his mouth.

"What're you doing here?" he merely asked, taking a slightly more relaxed stance as he waited for her to reply.

Elena was conflicted. She'd already been about to open her mouth to answer when Mariko's words echoed in her mind, making her rethink her possible actions. This person was a member of the yakuza, something that she didn't want to get involved with. She'd feared for not only her own wellbeing but also her father and his company's - be it she didn't know anything about it. She didn't want to cause him unnecessary trouble after he'd taken her into his house and provided her more than adequate schooling. Her classmates also seemed to avoid anyone that had even the slightest connection to the yakuza as though they were a tangible version of the plague.

Ritsu's expression started to shift from vary to a mix of anger and irritation as he kept staring at her, still waiting for her to respond.

"Aren't you going to even answer me?" he asked abruptly, his mouth molding into a frown when he saw Elena flinch slightly, startled from his outburst.

Elena sensed she didn't have much time to reply after then, furiously trying to figure out what she should do. The easiest – and cowardly – thing to do would be to run away from him and not stop before she was safely in her car, but she'd dismissed that option as soon as the thought had hit her. She knew it wouldn't do any good for her future, if anything it would only give the red head one more reason to kill her.

…_But he wouldn't actually kill me. He's had his chances and all he's done is helped me. _She thought idly, wondering if she was beginning to over trust a person she hardly knew.

As she watched him, she could tell he wasn't quite as hostile looking as he'd seemed the moment she'd heard about his true identity. She could see his expressions change into ones she almost deemed human, surprised to see emotions such as sadness glimmer in his eyes. His question popped up in her head, suddenly understanding his reasoning behind it. He just wanted an answer from her. Someone to talk to.

_He's not a bad person. He's helped me more than anyone else during this week and how do I repay him? I won't even answer a simple question even though I told him I wasn't afraid of him…_

Ritsu let his eyes drop, finally tired of waiting for a reply, snorting lightly as he began to turn away, as if not believing he'd wasted his time on such a thing. Elena reacted instantly, opening her mouth without another thought.

_Oh, the hell with it!_

"I was waiting. My lift isn't coming for another ten minutes so I was spending time admiring some of the flowers I saw on my flower-arranging lesson," she blurted out, effectively stopping the red head in his tracts. Elena felt herself swallow as she licked her lips, suddenly feeling slightly nervous. "And you? …Were you taking care of that injured bird from the other day?" she asked hesitantly, afraid whether or not her question had been appropriate.

Ritsu stared at her in astonishment for a while before he seemed to get ahold of himself, refocusing his eyes on Elena.

"Yeah," he slowly replied, glancing slightly nervously at her before continuing. "You…haven't told anyone about it." It was more of a statement than question.

Elena shook her head.

"Of course not. I figured it was your secret to keep," she replied hurriedly, relieved she hadn't slipped out anything having to do with supposedly her sticky end had she gossiped about the matter. "Anyway, how's it doing? The bird, I mean."

Ritsu changed his weight from one foot to the other, awkwardly shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants.

"Better, I guess. I don't know very much about caring for animals…"

"How long have you been taking care of him?" she inquired, trying not to sound overly nosy. She tried to keep the conversation going, hoping that Ritsu would catch on to the natural flow. She was pleasantly surprised when he replied without much hesitation.

"A couple of days," he murmured, his eyes darting away from her eyes as their gazes met for a brief moment.

"I see. So… how long until he's able to fly again?"

"I don't know, I'm not a vet!" he suddenly burst out, turning his focus back to her.

For the second time during their little run-in, Elena felt herself flinch as she took an involuntary step backwards, figuring she'd gone too far. She tried to force herself to swallow the small shriek that was threatening to escape from her mouth, twisting her lips into a small, tense smile.

"I guess not. But I hope he gets better soon," she blabbered out the first thing that came to her mind, the loud bell of the clock tower suddenly ringing once; indicating a half hour, much to her relief. "I should be going. My driver's probably waiting for me," she explained half-heartedly and made to turn around.

Something seemed to click in Ritsu's head as he took an abrupt step forward, his hands almost leaving his pockets as if he'd intended to reach out. "Wait!" he demanded, his harsh tone causing Elena to freeze in mid-step.

She patiently waited for him to continue, unsure whether or not she should turn back to look at him. After a moment of complete silence, she finally deemed it safe to peak at him.

Ritsu seemed to be in the middle of a debate with himself as his face twisted into various expressions, his mouth opening and closing right after.

"Yes…?"

He finally seemed to gain control of his voice as he forced out the first words. "You… Your name…" he floundered, visibly swallowing before continuing, "what's your… name?"

She blinked. "Why do you want to know?" she asked tentatively, turning her head to fully face him once more.

Ritsu looked astonished for a moment before pulling his right hand out of his pocket, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.

"Well… You know my name, and you said you wouldn't tell me yours before you knew mine, so…" he mumbled in explanation.

_Oh. He's talking about the time I saw him with that bird._

"It's Elena. Elena Kawamura," she replied with a smile before glancing towards the tower, her eyes widening when she saw the time. She turned back to him, an apologetic expression on her face. "I have to go. Bye."

With that, she hastily started to make her way back into the building, maneuvering through the hallways to get to the courtyard. Her driver was waiting for her, and she quickly apologized for being late before climbing into the car.

As the car slid into motion, Elena could see a flash of red from the corner of her eye; noticing Ritsu exit the same doors she herself had only moments ago. She vaguely registered the lack of waiting cars in the courtyard just before they exited the school's gates and turned left. She wondered whether Ritsu lived a walking distance away; suddenly feeling oddly guilty for taking a car to school if that were the case. After all she did live pretty close.

"Say, would it be possible for me to walk to school tomorrow?" she asked the driver. "It's not that far away."

"Like I already told the young mistress, it's a matter discussed with the master. I can't promise anything without the master's consent," he replied quickly before focusing back on his driving.

"So, when is my father coming home today?"

The driver shrugged. "I do not know the specific time; the master's plans change frequently during the day. Usually he's back before eleven, though."

Elena could feel her heart sink a bit as she realized she might not see her father that day. Yet again. He sure was busier than he'd been during her youth. She couldn't remember not seeing him daily, and now she could barely catch a glimpse of him if she was lucky. It must have been because of the family business. She wondered what kind of field demanded so many work hours as he father's. She'd just have to ask the next time she could talk to him properly.

The car jerked to a stop and before Elena had even opened her seatbelt, the door already flew open. Upon entering the house, her eyes set on Kemuri, who was once again waiting for her.

"Is my father home? I have something to ask him," she asked him, feeling a tad disappointed upon seeing the man shake his head. "I see… By any chance do you know when he's coming home?"

"Around eight pm given nothing happens," Kemuri replied monotonously, his last few words confusing Elena.

She eyed him expectantly, her expression inquiring. "What's that supposed to mean? That he doesn't get stuck in traffic?"

"Forget it, it's not relevant at the moment," he simply answered before he started heading towards her room, not even gesturing for her to follow.

Elena sighed in slight irritation but followed the man all the same, somehow getting the feeling he wasn't enjoying his duty.

"You know," she started, following a few meters behind him, "you don't have to show me the way to my room. I can find it myself."

"This is the task the master gave me and if he wishes something else of me, I'll do so. Otherwise I'll remain as your escort," he replied almost immediately, much to Elena's displeasure, before continuing, "Besides, I doubt you would find your room. The last time you tried, you ended up going completely the wrong way."

Elena felt like stepping on his heals.

/ / / / / / /

It turned out her father was indeed late, having been caught up with… something, and when he finally returned to the house, it was already nearly midnight. Though having already retired for bed, Elena was finding trouble sleeping and upon hearing voices in the hallway, she naturally overheard the conversation the two men were having. Not that she was eavesdropping, or anything. They shouldn't have just assumed that she'd be asleep.

Through the thin paper walls, she could hear low, unfamiliar voices as they walked by her room. All she could make out from the hurried conversation was that one of men had picked up someone from the hospital, the person having been in a less than pleasant mood, before they were too far off for her to hear more.

Once the two men were gone, she continued her attempt to fall asleep, dozing off for a near hour before her slumber was once again interrupted by voices, although this time it was a muffled shout. It instantly startled her into consciousness, having seemed to have come from inside the house.

Very slowly, she rose into a sitting position and waited for anything to confirm her suspicion to happen, not even daring to breath. She could hear someone making their way past her room – the night watch, perhaps – and once she recognized the footsteps of said person, she quickly but quietly got out of her bed and made her way to her door, sliding it open half way and peaking outside.

"Tarou," she whispered to the large man that had walked passed her room, waiting for him to turn around. He did so immediately upon hearing his name, heading back towards her.

"Young mistress," he acknowledged politely before giving her a questioning eye. "What are you still doing up at this hour? You have school tomorrow."

"I heard shouting and it startled me. Do you know what's going on?" she replied in a hush whisper, her concern apparent in her voice.

Tarou gave her a sympathetic smile and sighed somewhat tiredly. "It's nothing to worry about, rest assured. The former master has just been released from the hospital and he has a tendency to crave for certain things during the early hours."

"Oh," was all Elena could think of saying, still lingering by her door as the silence pressed on.

"You should go back to bed, young mistress," Tarou told her after witnessing Elena yawn tiredly. "After all, tomorrow is a school day."

Elena frowned slightly; he didn't need to remind her. "Good night," she merely told him before retiring back into her room, listening to the footfalls of the large man as he continued his rounds.

Feeling a yawn coming, she happily made her way back to her bed, though she couldn't help but feel a little anxious about the fact that her grandfather was currently staying in the same house. She hoped she wouldn't run into him anytime soon.

Reaching her bed, she dove back under the covers and pulled them over her head, hoping the thin covers would provide enough protection from the faint shouts and footfalls echoing through the house.

/ / / / / / /

The weekend came and went all too quickly for Elena as she concentrated on getting more of her homework done as well as studying for her up-coming exams, even though those weren't scheduled for another week. She found it almost hilarious that she was actually studying for an exam that wasn't set for that week, let alone spending her entire weekend focused on school stuff. Back in England, she'd usually gotten okay marks on her exams with barely any studying, and she wasn't all that fixed on getting every single piece of homework finished either. During her early years when she'd still had friends, she'd hang out with them for most of the day, and once she'd gotten older, she would spend all her free time with her mother.

Unlike those days, she now had a source of motivation for doing well in school; her class. It wasn't like she'd grown overly fond of them; it was the knowledge of being placed in the same class as all the yakuza children if she did poorly on her marks. The dread of even sitting near any one of those students was more than enough to encourage her to do her best.

Come Monday, she had already been able to catch up with the rest in both English and math, much to her teachers' surprise. She gladly returned the few assignments she'd received from both subjects and headed towards her last class that day. Mariko walked beside her all the while telling her about the disastrous dinner she'd been forced to go along with her parents. Elena was only listening half-heartedly, picking up things such as 'sweaty jogging shorts', 'appalling table manners', and something about dry chicken.

"I don't know what my parents were thinking when they gave my number to that boy! He was obviously more interested in discussing about sports than even caring to ask about my interests…" she fumed, tapping on her phone to disable the boy's number. "I swear you're lucky Elena that your parents aren't trying to play matchmaker; it's like they don't even consider my opinions at all!"

Elena just gave her an apologetic smile, not knowing what else to do, having never been in such a position.

"Do the parents of this school's students often decide whom their children go out with?" she thought to ask.

"You could say that. It's just more permanent than just 'going out'; they're often engaged as well."

Elena felt her eyes widen for a second. "Engaged? This young?" she wondered, not being able to imagine herself in the same situation.

Mariko merely shrugged her shoulders as if it was obvious. "Some families want to play it safe and get some stability for their children's lives early on. I knew a girl in middle school who'd been engaged when she was eleven," she stated, continuing as she saw the unasked question on Elena's expression, "Though that was quiet rare. I think the search for a perfect partner usually starts between high school and collage, just like mine has," she pondered, grumbling the last part of her sentence. A sly yet excited expression soon lit her face, though, as she turned towards Elena, smiling brightly. "Speaking of which, do you by any chance have an eye for someone at the moment, hmm?" Mariko inquired, the question almost causing Elena to stumble in her own feet.

"What? No!" she replied instantly, trying to redeem herself as she straitened her posture in attempt to look confident. She could tell Mariko wasn't having any of it.

"You do have someone in mind, don't you. I bet I know who it is; it's Mori-sempai, right?" Mariko giggled happily as Elena gave her a shocked look.

"No, didn't you just hear me? I told you, I don't see anyone that way," she hurriedly explained to the girl, feeling her face start to burn; her embarrassment on the matter no doubt being interpreted all wrong by Mariko.

The girl merely smirked at her, a knowing gleam in her eye. "Sure you don't," she replied before lightly bumping her shoulder into Elena's. "Don't take it that seriously Elena, I was only joking."

Elena sighed lightly, knowing it wouldn't be the end of the matter. She prayed to god that they would soon reach the languages classroom, not caring that the next subject was French. As they stepped inside the classroom, Mariko finally opened her mouth.

"So, have you thought about visiting Mori-sempai today?"

/ / / / / / /

Elena nervously licked her lips as she stared at the large double doors of the third music room. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. She did still have a lot of unfinished homework; surely she could skip out on a petty tea party? It wasn't that important anyway.

"Don't even think about it Elena. You already replied to their invite so you can't worm your way out of this," Mariko reminded her by her side as they got closer and closer to the Host Club.

The day she'd been dreading was finally here. It was Wednesday, and at three pm sharp the Host Club was throwing a tea tasting event for 'the lucky few'. Elena couldn't help but feel rather unlucky as Mariko jerked her back into motion, all but dragging her by the hand. She'd been trying to think of a way out for half a day, the best she'd come up with being the age-old excuse of 'I have to do my homework', which was very true and a matter most urgent in her case, be it she'd completely finished the extra work from a few topics. Even so, she wasn't afraid to lean on her poor excuse given the opportunity.

Mariko was more than aware of her opinion on the Host Club, yet the girl seemed to be either ignorant, highly stubborn or just had a need to share her interests in life; those being sitting aimlessly through the afternoons whilst sipping tea and making pointless conversations with people the girl insisted Elena should know. Elena had also realized that like most of the things at school, the Host Club wasn't cheap; they actually charged her on her third and very involuntary visit.

_The nerve of that boy! Of course it's only after I'm about to leave that he'd mention I owe them money! Stupid club and stupid rich people…_

In the middle of cursing the entire school and its founding fathers, Elena hadn't realized Mariko opening the door and pulling her in until they were standing before Kyoya, the spectacled boy sporting a small grin at the sigh of them. Elena felt like kicking him in the knee, and she finally did; mentally, at least.

"Ah, miss Akiyama and Kawamura," Kyoya greeted them pleasantly, "I'm glad to see you two. Because we're expecting a full event today, we've arranged a seating order according to the wishes of our guests," he explained, indicating towards a sheet of the same high-quality paper their letters had been, the layout of the room having been printed onto it in golden print. "All of the tables will be accompanied by a host," Kyoya continued as Mariko enthusiastically grabbed onto the paper, gasping happily as she found her name.

"I can't believe my luck, I'm with Kaoru!" she almost squealed as she pushed the sheet of paper over to Elena's un-wanting hands. "Who are you with Elena?" she inquired, though Elena couldn't tell whether she actually knew to begin with.

She let her eyes fall onto the paper, in no hurry of finding her name. She hadn't made any wishes of her own, unlike probably every other girl, and as so she expected to be placed with the least popular host. She finally found her name; seated in couches around a large coffee table with six other girls, none of whose names she recognized. She nervously scrolled her eyes on the paper, searching for the host's name. She anticipated to see either Kyoya or Mori's name, somewhat surprised to see she'd been wrong.

"I'm in Haruhi's table," she read off the paper before Kyoya snatched it away from her hands.

"That's great Elena! Haruhi's really nice, I'm absolutely sure you'll like him," Mariko chirped at her side, and for once, Elena could almost agree with the girl. Haruhi had seemed the most sane and down to earth during her first visit at the club, and to be honest Elena was relieved she was in his entourage if anyone's.

Kyoya lead them to their respective tables, Mariko's being on the other side of the room. Elena's table was still missing two girls upon her arrival and she took advantage of the remaining free seats, choosing to sit at the farthest corner of the other couch, which was shockingly, empty. The remaining two girls arrived after a few minutes, and they too took their seats, trying to squeeze closer to each other in hopes of getting closer to the male student sitting on a cushioned chair at the end of the other end of the table.

"Welcome ladies, I'm so happy you could find the time to join us for some tea," Haruhi began, smiling warmly and genuinely at his guests, indicating towards the various teakettles on the table. "Please, let's begin tasting, shall we? We have five different types of tea to try, the first one being an old Indian tea ground from…" Haruhi's tea presentation died off into the background noise as conversations arose throughout the tables and the click of teacups being lifted from their plates filled the room.

Elena let her mind wander as she sipped some of the tea Haruhi had served them, not paying too much attention to the conversation in either her or anyone else's table. She felt a tad alone without Mariko by her side; not knowing anyone by her table. They all seemed like nice people though, and she wondered whether Haruhi attracted just such people. For instance she'd noticed that the girls over by the flamboyant blonde's table were all craving for him to complement them, whereas the girls over by Haruhi seemed to be content on somebody listening to them and actively taking part in a conversation. Elena soon found out he wasn't actually from a wealthy family but an honor student; a celebrity inside the school itself. She instantly felt an odd spark of kinship with the boy who could relate to her late childhood.

They were already on their fourth kind of tea when Elena suddenly felt the nagging feeling of being stared at, and she cautiously raised her gaze from her cup, only to see the entire table looking at her expectantly. She felt her face getting red.

"…What?"

Haruhi was quick to reply before anyone else could even open their mouths.

"We were talking about our favorite and least favorite subjects at school," he briefed her in on the conversation, smiling gently at her. "Would you care to share yours?"

Elena blinked, feeling like an idiot, embarrassed for having spaced out.

"Sure. My favorite subject would have to be biology and least favorite flower-arranging," she answered without much thought. She'd always liked natural science as well as nature in all its forms. Flower-arranging, though, had become her new foreign language – her previous least favorite subject – no thanks to her teacher.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but I recall you were from England?" one of the girls asked her politely. "It's just that I'd only assumed your favorite subject would've been English."

"Yes, I am from England, but even so though it might be my strongest subject at the moment, it's not automatically my favorite. I like English and I find the lessons generally not that difficult but during subjects like biology my interest just sparks," she answered, trying to explain her situation. She could see some of the girls nod their heads.

"I understand. I'm naturally gifted with numbers but mathematics isn't my favorite subject," one of the girls commented, smiling softly. "Actually, the subject I like the most is history. I might not be the greatest at it but I like it."

"I'm curious; if you like biology so much, how come you aren't fond of flower-arranging?" Haruhi asked Elena, his tone neutral.

Elena couldn't help but grimace a bit upon answering. "You haven't met the teacher. Trust me, you'd want to escape into the garden as well whenever she picks you to present your work."

The entire table burst into giggles, much to Elena's surprise. What were they laughing at?

"That's true, I couldn't seem to pick a decent bouquet even if my life depended on it," the girl sitting across from her confessed once most of the laughter had passed. "I actually ended up finishing the class independently at home, otherwise I would probably still be kneeling by some rose bushes."

The conversation rolled on from there on with Elena commenting something once and awhile. She found the other girls to actually be rather nice and sweet by nature, and could openly discuss about matters she preferred, never being forced to say anything more than what she was willing. It was a nice change of pace and once she realized she'd drank her fifth cup of tea, the event was drawing to a finish as well. Already a handful of their entourage had left and once Mariko appeared by Elena's side, she knew her visit was over as well. It was oddly saddening.

She got up from her seat and took ahold of her bag, turning towards Haruhi with a small smile.

"Thank you for your company, I had a wonderful time, strangely enough," she confessed after she was sure Mariko was a good listening distance away. "To be honest I don't think I would've made it through this with any other host; I'm not familiar with these things at all and it can be overwhelming at times."

Haruhi smiled brightly at her as he got up and walked up to her. "I'm glad you liked it miss Elena. I'm not very experienced with these things either but I try my best, even though it requires some effort…" his voice got lower and lower until it was just a whisper. "I understand your situation. If you ever need a person to talk to, you know where to find me," he whispered to her, knowing she was skittish about the Host Club but offering his help nevertheless.

Elena felt a smile tug her lips. "I'll keep that in mind."

With that she said her goodbyes to the rest around the table and made her way over to Mariko, together making their way to the courtyard. During the short walk from the club to the courtyard, Mariko blabbered on and on about the conversations they had had and about the very important people around her table, throwing out names Elena didn't even have time to remember. Exiting the school building, two cars were waiting outside, the motors starting upon their entering the yard. They said their respectable goodbyes before getting into their cars, both driving off instantly.

"Who was that girl you were with, a friend?" her driver inquired just as they exited the gates, turning left upon doing so.

"Yeah, you could say that. We're in the same class," she replied from the backseat, taking in the ever more familiar scenery of her school route. "Do you know when my father's coming home today?"

"I'm sorry young mistress, but you'll have to ask someone at the house."

"Oh."

She'd been trying to have an actual conversation with her father for what seemed like forever. The last time they spoke for more than five minutes must've been on the day she arrived, and that had been over a week and a half ago. She wanted them to in general spend more father-daughter quality time, be it even a shared dinner. She was beginning to feel like her father didn't actually live in the same house as she just because of how rarely she even saw him.

Upon arriving to the house, the rows of men were already kneeling on their hands and knees as Elena made her way through the large wooden gates, bracing for the loud and joyous greeting they insisted on performing even though she'd said it wasn't necessary. She greeted them all the same, having grown more confident around them as she made her way through the courtyard and into the house. To her surprise it was Kohaku who was waiting for her, and she felt slightly relieved for that. She honestly couldn't take any of Kemuri's gibe today.

"Welcome back, mistress Elena," Kohaku greeted her before indicating for her to follow, setting off for the familiar route from the main entrance to her room. For once she didn't mind an escort, however; she had something to ask him anyway.

"Say Kohaku, do you know what time my father will be home? I was hoping I could have a talk with him when he gets back."

Kohaku glanced at her, rubbing his neck with his right hand. "I think he intended to be back earlier than usual. It was probably around seven. But you know something could always come up," he replied, his last sentence pulling Elena back onto the Earth as she'd been planning on how she should fraise what she wanted. She felt her heart sink a tad upon the fact, though she'd already become fairly used to it.

Once they reached her room, she thanked Kohaku and asked him to come inform her when her father returned, before trying to get more schoolwork done. The history test was coming up on the following week and being the first exam she'd have in Japan, she was keen on making a good impression.

She spent most of her evening reading through her history book after she'd gotten her homework done for the day, until finally she heard a faint knock on the floorboards behind her door, asking for entry. Kohaku slid the paper door to the side, informing that her father had arrived and was expecting her to join him for dinner. She happily did so, relieved to end her study session for the day.

Upon entering the dining room her father was already there, talking rapidly on his phone. Elena hesitated a bit, debating whether or not she should come back later, but her father beaconed her closer, inclining towards a chair opposite to him. She was careful not to make too much noise as his phone call continued, starting to gather some food on her plate while she waited for him to finish.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll deal with it tomorrow. Just try to keep things rolling during tonight. I'm late for an important meeting, so don't bother me, ey?"

Elena watched as he snapped his phone shut and sighed out of irritation, glancing towards her.

"Sorry about that, one of my men had some troubles during the day but it'll just have to wait for tomorrow."

She merely nodded, feeling a bit apprehensive as she tucked into her dinner.

"When are you leaving?" she asked cautiously as she bit into a piece of potato.

Her father gave her a confused expression. "Oh, the meeting, you mean? Don't need to leave, I'm already there," he answered with a smirk. "I meant to have dinner with you last week but due to certain events it didn't happen. That's why I made sure to take the rest of tonight off."

Elena felt herself smile; glad that her father was aware of how little time they spent together.

"So tell me, how are things at school coming alone? Have you liked Ouran so far?"

"Well," she started, debating whether to be bluntly honest or not, "it's… different, that's for sure," she admitted, noticing her father nod from the corner of her eye. "Everything's so grand and distracting, but most of the people are nice. I guess I've even managed to make a friend."

Her father kept nodding, seeming rather interested in what she had to say. "That's good. I knew when I enrolled you there that it could be a potentially difficult change for you but I'm glad to hear you're doing well. What about school work; are you getting in enough studying?"

Elena felt like rolling her eyes. "Plenty."

"Ah. Kemuri told me you've been spending your afternoons at school." Elena could hear his unasked question in the sentence.

"I've been catching up on my classes in the library; I find it easier to concentrate while I'm still at school. I've already managed to finish some of the work."

"You know what Ouran is widely known for; afterschool clubs. When you've caught up your classes, why not spend your afternoon in one of those?" her father suggested, giving her a quizzing glance. "It's an effective way to meet people, especially in a school such as Ouran. Besides, a young woman such as yourself shouldn't be spending all her free time studying; it's not healthy."

Elena thought about what he said. It was true that she wasn't that keen on studying all day, but joining a club hadn't exactly been on her to do-list either. She didn't know that many people to begin with, and Mariko only ever wanted to go to the Host Club, so on that regard her options were very limited.

"I don't know if I'm a club-type person," she admitted, poking a piece of carrot with her fork.

"Well, I'm not forcing you to go, but it wouldn't hurt for you to try," her father replied. "I remember how much you used to like your ballet classes back in the day."

Elena nearly choked on her food, giving her father an incredulous look. "Since when did I give that impression? I only ever went there because you wanted me to. I was terrible at it," she reminded him, the topic bringing back some embarrassing memories from her childhood. "In the last recital I ever took part in, I fell into the audience. And I didn't even have a dance number; I was a freaking tree!" she exclaimed, hoping she got her point across. "That's why I quit."

Her father stared at her for a moment before continuing his dinner. "Well, I always thought you liked it."

After a moment of silence, Elena felt all the resentment she felt towards her old hobby subside, and once again remembered what she had meant to ask her father about.

"I've been wondering," she began, pausing for a moment to catch her father's attention. "The school isn't that far away, is it? Could I possibly start walking to school?"

Her father scrunched his brows. "What's wrong with being driven? It's much faster anyway."

"I'd just like to walk from time to time. I did it all the time back in England; I don't mind," she tried to explain, giving him her best innocent expression. It'd worked in the past whenever she'd wanted something, so she might as well try it. "Please?"

Ryouichi stared at his daughter, her eyes slowly piercing into his heart. He remembered this expression quite well, and try as he might he had always given into her wishes. He was strongly considering to just oblige and let her do whatever she wanted; after all she hadn't demanded for anything until now. And a little exercise never hurt anyone.

With a sigh, he gave up. "Fine. But only on your way back; I don't want you being late."

Elena smiled, feeling accomplished.

* * *

**A/N: **Quick fact; as of this day (Oct 8th 2013) this story is the longest romance genre Kasanoda fanfic posted of FanFiction. Wow o.O


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: **First of all I have to apologize for the late update; I've had this chapter nearly finished for so long but for some reason I never got around finishing it. Originally I had planned on updating around Halloween and when that didn't happen I suddenly realized that November came and went as well. Even so here it is, I hope you enjoy it! :)

review replies:  
Molly Grace 16: Thank you for the review; you'll find out what Elena's father does in this chapter!  
Extended Experience: Thank you very much! I plan on writing an even longer story :)  
Kaitana08: Thank you, I'm hoping on setting even more records :D  
hardeehar: Agreed. It's sad there aren't many longer Ritsu stories, he needs more love.  
Soultrancer: I'm glad you like the story :) I'm not sure how much canon I'll include into the story though I'll admit that the scene with the twins would be hilarious :DD I hope you like this chapter as well!  
Gothic-Hippie13: Thank you for the review! Regarding your confusion about the scene between the flight attendants, here's an explanation. The flight from England to Japan is long and Elena wasn't asleep during the entire time. Because she traveled all alone in business class, she stood out for the attendants. I hope I cleared your confusion; I'll be PM:ing you as well about the matter should you not notice this reply.  
InsertDecentNameHere: Thank you very much! I hope you like this chapter as well :)  
Guest: Here's another update, hope you like it! Thank you for the review!  
Jacquelina-Comm: I'm so happy you feel that way! Though I admit there will be some canon to the story, I still try to make it as original as possible and not just try to merely add Elena into already existing episodes of Ouran.

* * *

Chapter 7.

"Aw, I should've studied more for that exam but I just didn't have the time!" Mariko whined as they exited the classroom, having just finished their small-scale history exam. Elena felt like making a remark about the ratio of time she had spent at the Host Club in relation to her studying but decided not to in the end. "I can't risk getting a lower score than 60% or my parents will hire a historian to tutor me," Mariko sighed, the distaste she felt for the matter evident in her voice.

"I'm sure you did fine," Elena tried to convince the other girl, sighing exhaustedly in doing so. "Besides, if anyone's going to get a bad mark, it's me. My brain blanked out for nearly ten minutes and I didn't have enough time to get everything done."

"Well, it's only one test anyway; things get much more serious when we have our midterms," Mariko remarked, already seeming to have gotten over her earlier depression. "We'll just try harder next time."

Elena hummed, grimacing slightly as she thought about the even larger exams. She had the feeling she wouldn't pass at least one particular subject. She wondered what would happen to her if she failed such a subject anyway.

"When exactly do we have them, the midterms I mean?" she pondered out loud as they were just about to enter the languages classroom.

"Um, at the end of the month," Mariko recalled, smiling slightly before continuing, "Thank god there's still time for those; I haven't studied for anything yet…"

Elena felt her eyes widen upon realizing what day it was. "But isn't that in just over a week?" she exclaimed in slight horror, pulling out her calendar in the process, thus confirming her assumptions. Mariko looked equally shocked, if not more.

"What? I thought we still had weeks to study! Darn, seems like I have to rearrange my plans…"

"You were thinking of going to the Host Club, weren't you?"

Mariko nodded sullenly, acting as though she were heartbroken.

"Why not come study with me after school?" Elena suggested, feeling it wouldn't hurt to ask. "I find it easier to study while at school."

She got all the answer she needed when Mariko gave her a deadpan expression.

/ / / / / / /

Elena slowly made her way from the library towards the courtyard, having spent nearly three hours studying that afternoon. Miraculously, she'd somehow convinced Mariko to join her instead of visiting the Host Club, though the girl hadn't stayed long. Even so, it had been nice having a friend with her, though she had to admit studying with Mariko was almost impossible.

Finally making it outside, she began walking to the gates; finally having gotten permission to walk back to the house. She'd already walked back on the day before, though her father had insisted on someone to come along with her. As if she would have gotten lost with the simple instructions of 'straight, straight, straight, left, straight, right, straight', not to mention a map. She'd taken the liberty of changing out of her uniform, changing into a pair of jeans and a top, as well as more comfortable shoes. She'd long since decided she wouldn't be caught dead wearing her school uniform in public. And wasn't she doing the school a favor for not giving the impression that its students didn't have enough money to hire a personal driver?

Turning left at the gate, her eyes saw a flash of red in the far distance, instantly catching her attention. She felt herself freeze in place as she saw Ritsu Kasanoda walking twenty or so meters in front of her, advancing in a somewhat irregular pace. He had his bag flopped up against his back, the long strands of his crimson hair partially covering the other corner of it. He hadn't seemed to notice her, and with that in mind she forced herself into a steady walk, making sure her pace kept their distance the same.

_I wonder why he's just leaving, maybe he's a member of a club or something…_

They walked like that for a few blocks before Ritsu turned left, his action causing a sigh of relief to escape Elena's lips. She was growing tired of adjusting her pace to his and could now proceed as she wanted. In her mind she had been wondering whether he would ever make a turn, silently dreading it would be the same as hers. Deep down she knew that the likelihood of him living anywhere near her was close to nothing, considering her father had given her permission to get to know the neighborhood. After all, no father in their right mind would've allowed their only daughter to explore a yakuza infested neighborhood.

Truth be told, she wasn't quite sure why she didn't want him to notice her. The road they both walked on just happened to be on the route to her house, not like she could do anything about it. Besides, it wasn't like she was following him; he just seemed to live along the way to her house. She nearly let out a semi-loony fit of laughter as she actually considered the possibility of following him to his house. It was definitely not one of her better ideas.

_Hypothetically speaking though, would I be classed as a stalker if I followed him? …Uh, dad's probably right, I'm studying too much…_

Forcing herself to concentrate on something else, she finally made it to the corner that Ritsu had disappeared around and stopped, carefully peaking around it to make sure he was still walking. To her surprise he was nowhere in sight.

_He must've made another turn…_

Satisfied, she crossed the street and walked another block before making her first turn. The further away she got from the large street, the more peaceful it got, with lesser traffic and more likable housing areas. Zooming through the area in a car didn't do it any justice, she'd concluded the other day. In general she'd noticed that her entire neighborhood had a nice, safe atmosphere, which was more than she could say for most of the areas that surrounded the apartments they'd lived in with her mother. Not that they'd been dangerous areas, but they lacked the calming feel to them.

She made her next turn after a large western style house; a marvelous landmark for it was one of the few on her route. Seeing the completely different architectural style next to rows of similar semi-traditional Japanese housings was slightly off-putting at first, but Elena found it was a nice oddity in the midst of the area. She still thought that the original houses were more appealing, though.

Upon getting close enough to see the tall wooden fence circling her current home, she noticed a black car parked hastily on the street in front of the gates. She concluded that her father must've been home. The gates were already open as she entered the courtyard, straight away receiving her daily calls of 'welcome back mistress Elena' before she entered the house, surprised to see her father waiting for her, his hand latching onto a cellphone. He let it momentarily fall from his ear as he saw her.

"Great, you're finally home. Go change into something nice, we leave in ten minutes," he told her swiftly before continuing his call, leaving Elena to make her own assumptions on what was going on.

"Right," she mumbled back as she set off for her room, already thinking of what she should wear. It would've helped if her father had told her where they were going. For all she could know, they could be going for dinner or a funeral.

She decided on a dark blue dress that reached just past her knees with a pair of black ballerinas, hoping the clothing would do. She hastily combed her hair and pulled it up into a neat bun before she grabbed a random purse and started heading back to the main entrance.

Her father was still talking on his phone when she emerged from the hallway, the man giving her a once-over before nodding in what she assumed to be approval, beaconing for her to follow. They made their way past the surprisingly quiet men outside and into the car, the car gliding into motion before Elena could even buckle her seatbelt. She stared uninterestedly outside the window for a few minutes before her father finally ended his call, tucking the phone away.

"Sorry about that," he apologized with a sigh, rubbing his neck in a tired fashion.

Elena nodded. "Where are we going?"

"To dinner. You look great by the way," he remarked, smirking when he looked at her. "I'm glad your mother educated you on dressing neatly; she always managed to look her finest when the situation called for it."

Elena couldn't help but smile at the comment. "Thanks. Mom's still got it."

The car finally stopped and the door opened mere seconds after. Elena resentfully grabbed onto the hand that was offered to her, too tired to cause a fuse on the matter, before following her father inside the restaurant.

The restaurant was a bit on the small side with a dozen or so tables, all varying in size. The color scheme seemed to prefer deep shades of red and she felt she would've probably stuck out like a sore thumb if it weren't for the dim lighting. All in all, the restaurant seemed quite cozy and atmospheric, though it was full, all of the tables occupied. Elena briefly wondered whether her father had even made a reservation.

Her father peered around the small dining area until he focused his eyes on something, turning his gaze briefly to Elena.

"This way," he murmured, leading her towards a table suited for half a dozen people.

Two men dressed in black suits occupied the table and they raised their gazes as she and her father approached them, both eyeing her for a moment before focusing on her father, much to Elena's relief.

"Ryouichi," the one on the right greeted first in a low murmur as they sat down, Elena choosing her seat so she only sat next to her father. The man glanced towards her, eyeing her closely. "Who's she?"

He was bald but it seemed like it was by his own choice by having shaved his head, the man not looking older than thirty-five years old. He had a sharp face with small, hard eyes that seemed almost completely black in the dim lit restaurant. Elena felt an involuntary shiver go down her spine; she didn't like the way he was glaring at her.

"This is my daughter Elena, she'll be joining us for dinner," her father answered firmly, as if stating that the matter was dealt with.

The man on the left seemed to take an interest on her. "Ya never mentioned ya had a daughter before…" he pointed out sounding deep in thought before focusing on Elena. "How ya doing doll? Kenta Maki, pleased to meet ya," he introduced himself, flashing a grin as he extended his hand.

The man, now known as Kenta Maki, was clearly younger than the other, and Elena guessed him to be around twenty-five-ish. He had short black hair that was slicked back with gel, and upon closer examination Elena found he was pretty heavily tattooed; noticing some on his neck and even the hand he was offering her, though she could only guess how far they reached.

Elena hesitated for a moment but grabbed his hand never the less, murmuring she was fine whilst shaking it.

"Tanaka," the other man introduced himself as, though he didn't offer to shake her hand. Elena merely nodded at him in response.

They ordered dinner soon after the mandatory introductions and questions. It didn't take long before the three men got wrapped into a conversation that Elena could hardly understand; the conversation lingering around numbers and terms she'd never heard before. She assumed it had something to do with the family business, which judging by all the different town names the men brought up, was quite large. There wasn't much input on her part and she mainly focused on chewing her food properly. The food was all right but even it couldn't help her feel a little left out. Finally, after an hour of sitting silently and vaguely listening to the conversation, her father seemed to be finished and ready to leave.

"Sounds like you two know your stuff, keep it up, will you? I have enough to deal with back here and I'd prefer not to be called out for every little screw up," he told the men in a serious tone, getting up from his chair and glancing towards Elena. "Come on, we're leaving," he murmured to her, instantly causing her to get up, relieved they could finally leave.

"We'll be seeing ya again, doll," Maki shot to Elena in a good manner, to which she could only nod, unsure if that would be the case.

They exited the small building, her father placing a hand behind her back as he guided her towards their awaiting car, the car's engine already running. With no one opening the door for them, Ryouichi quickly pulled it open, shocking Elena as he nearly pushed her inside, entering soon after she was fully inside the vehicle. The car zoomed off the moment the door closed, and Elena eyed her father speculatively while fastening her seatbelt.

"Are we in a hurry?" she questioned him, finally managing to find the corresponding piece to match her belt and clicking it shut.

"Hm? Well, it is a school day…" he paused for a moment, as if rethinking his answer before lazily continuing, "on Monday, and it's getting late," he replied, glancing outside the window, the sun having long since set. "I'm sorry, I hadn't planned on that taking as long as it did. You probably still have homework to do…"

Elena felt her lips tug slightly, turning her face to look outside.

"No, it's alright; I went to the library again today to get some studying done," she answered, vaguely studying the passersby on the streetlamp illuminated streets. "Who were those two men?" she asked soon after, trying to keep her voice as neutral as possible.

"They work for me and keep things in check in the farther districts. I round them and a few others up for a meeting every once and awhile; long phone calls can get tiresome after awhile."

She nodded, glancing at her father. "Why did you want me to come with you when you knew you'd be having a meeting?"

Ryouichi shrugged, turning his full focus back to her. "Why not?"

"Well, for start I felt seriously misplaced considering I couldn't understand half of what you discussed about, much less about your company. I just sat there and didn't say anything. It's like if you were just randomly hanging out with me today during my exam."

"You don't want to learn about the company, Elena," her father stated in a dismissive voice, crossing his arms in doing so.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I never said I didn't. I just wasn't that interested in it before."

Her father gave her a disbelieving glance. Elena merely held his gaze. Ryouichi sighed.

"What do you want to know?"

Elena smirked, a question already on her mind. "What field are you in?"

He was silent for a moment before answering, wording his thoughts carefully, probably to make it easier for her to understand.

"I believe we could be classified under security and retail," he told her, further elaborating when he saw the question in her eyes. "We have two sectors within the company; the other half specializes in providing protection and such, for example bodyguards or tax collectors for individuals, and the other half sells medicine to mostly medium sized companies."

"Oh."

_So that's what he does. At least now I know something if someone were to ask…_

"What's the name?"

"I think you'll find it quite unimaginative," he smirked before continuing, "It used to be known as 'Yuugure Group; Drugs and Security' but after I took over it was changed into 'Yuugure Corporation' for short. The previous name didn't sound right to my ears," he mused, and Elena could clearly understand his reasoning. No doubt it gave off the wrong kind of image about the business.

They finally arrived back to the house and with her curiosity settled for now, Elena thanked her father for the dinner before she started to make her way to her room; pealing off her shoes in the process. Once in her room, she slipped out of her dress and placed it back into her cupboard before gathering her things and heading for the shower; yearning nothing more than to stand under the warm water.

It had been a rough day, or should she say a rough two weeks of nothing else than studying, and Elena could feel she was near to her breaking point. She'd never been much of a prep, nor would she ever be, apparently. Maybe she should take the weekend off of studying and focus of charging her batteries.

_Too bad the midterms are almost here…_

Heading back to her room, she mirthlessly pointed out to herself that she didn't have anything else to do other than study, considering she didn't have anyone's number or address. Maybe she should go for a jog or something; get to know more of her neighborhood. She could do with a little exercise.

One thing was for sure; she wouldn't be touching another schoolbook tonight. She was tired and wasn't in the mood for schoolwork. She glanced to check the time; it was nearly ten pm. She frowned, her intentions of calling her mother put off for another day. With a sigh she walked up to her bed and climbed in, pulling the covers over her head as a precaution should her grandfather wake up in the middle of the night.

He did wake up, along with most of the house.

/ / / / / / /

Elena hadn't felt this powerless in ages. Her feet felt like lead and she couldn't seem to catch her breath no matter how she tried to focus on her breathing. Her side also hurt; the stinging feeling only discouraging her further.

_Two more lampposts; just two more. You can do it! _She thought to herself, forcing her legs forward as she jogged through the streets, her inner laziness cursing why the lampposts were so goddamn far apart. She told herself to shut up and keep going.

At first she'd thought that spending her Sunday morning exercising was a bolt of genius, and so she'd strapped on her running shoes and pranced out, politely declining of Kohaku's offer for a jogging partner. No doubt her father still didn't trust in her ability to navigate.

She finally made it to her set goal point and halted into a walk, continuing her way along the long street as she tried to even out her breath. There weren't many who'd ventured out on that morning, and during her jog she'd only passed a few. She liked it, the emptiness of the streets. It was a nice change to the times she'd wandered the overly crowded streets of England. The atmosphere around these parts seemed almost tranquil.

Still a bit winded, Elena started to head back towards the house, her body craving for a shower and something to drink.

_Wow, I didn't think I'd be this out of shape._

She continued to walk along the street, glancing around at the houses, trying to recognize where she was. She couldn't.

_Damnit!_

She looked harder, trying to find anything she found even remotely familiar. Still nothing. She was starting to panic, forcing herself to keep moving forward. Maybe she should've just taken Kohaku with her.

Something suddenly caught her eye; a break in the otherwise flowing continuum of the neighborhood. It was a gigantic stonewall and gate; the stonewall seeming to go on and on as she tried to see where it ended. It was certainly some wall; the property had to be enormous! She'd sure remember it were it near her house.

She sighed, feeling a little deflated. She wasn't even close to her house…

Giving the gate one last look, she noticed a sign on the right side of it. At first she got her hopes up, thinking it was a road sign, but she was disappointed to find out it wasn't. Far from it, as she read the text, her face paling a few shades.

**Kasanoda Syndicate**

Somewhere along the way, she'd managed to end up smack in front of Ritsu Kasanoda's house. What where the odds?

She finally remembered how to operate her lungs again as she felt the dire need to breath, and she soon felt just as winded as before. She really should get ahold of herself and move on; after all, it was just a house. People probably walked past it all the time, right? And for god's sake people even lived around the house; that was if the houses were indeed occupied. She willed herself to believe that was the case.

She suddenly felt as though she was being watched, her suspicion soon confirmed when two men emerged from the gates, keeping a close eye on her as they halted once outside. Elena gulped, afraid to move.

"Hey kid, you got any business here?" one of the men inquired, his stance tense, reminding her of a tuned bow and arrow, ready to strike if needed.

She didn't trust her voice, shaking her head in reply instead, trying to avoid sudden movements, as she stayed glued into place. She cursed herself for ever thinking about getting to know the neighborhood if it only got her into situations like this.

"Then I suggest you take a hike kid," the other man replied, raising a brow when she didn't move. "What? You deaf or something? I told you to beat it."

"The academy…!" Elena suddenly blabbered out, confusing both the men and herself.

"What-"

"The road leading to the academy, please, could you tell me how to get to it?" she elaborated after picking up her thoughts, holding her breath as she waited for their response. This was her best chance on finding back to the house nearly by herself, and as she didn't want them to know what street she lived on, she asked direction to her school. She figured since Ritsu himself attended the academy, his…goons, would probably have an idea where it was.

The men looked at each other before giving one another a 'what the hell' type of look.

"Go down the road, turn right, walk a couple of blocks, turn left and continue heading onward; you'll eventually end up next to a large road. From there just turn right and the academy's along the side of the road; big thing, you can't miss it."

"Thank you!" She knew she sounded too forcefully happy but she didn't care, jerking into motion as soon as she'd received the last instructions.

Once she was moving, her speed kept increasing until she was jogging again, her legs begging her to stop but she ignored them, further torturing herself when she burst into a sprint after she'd made the first turn, hoping to god the men wouldn't follow her. Even though it would've made a fascinating story should she live, getting chased by the yakuza on a Sunday morning wasn't exactly what she hoped for.

She didn't last long running as she soon tired, forced to slow down to a walk. She was brave enough to glance behind her, finding no one following her, much to her relief. Now that her lungs worked again and her brains got the right amount of oxygen again, she reasoned the goons most likely had better things to do on a Sunday morning than chasing every person who stopped to look at the solid stonewall that encircled their master's house. It was rather eye-catching, after all.

Elena soon found herself emerging from the stretch of street that Ritsu had disappeared off to a few days prior, ending up on the road that the academy was on. She turned left and headed straight for the house, her walking speed matching some of the joggers that seemed to suddenly be on the move. She only slowed down once she was a block away from her house, trying to once again get her breathing in control. She walked through the open gates, the few men sweeping the yard greeting her immediately as she stepped inside the estate. Tarou seemed to be overseeing that the yard was dustless, and he smiled politely to Elena when she passed him.

"Did you have a nice jog, young mistress?"

Elena felt like sighing but kept it in, deciding to focus her last remaining bits on energy on untying her shoes.

"It was sure more effective than I first intended it on being," she replied, ripping off her left shoe.

"Did you see the neighborhood?"

"Yes, more than enough."

She headed for her room once both of her shoes were off, wanting nothing more than a shower at the moment. Then after that she would ask someone to bring her a smoothie and she would go sit outside and admire the garden.

Her thoughts were interrupted however even before she got to her room as Kemuri suddenly appeared in front of her; the stoic man eying her from behind his ash colored hair. Elena felt herself sigh.

"Please don't say anything and just go away, I'm not in the mood for your mocking," she whined tiredly as she passed him, not even glancing at him.

"Why would you think I'd mock you," Kemuri started, the volume of his voice staying the same, indicating he was now following her, much to Elena's displeasure. "I was only going to ask about where you'd been for the last two hours. You didn't get lost, did you?"

Even though she couldn't see him, Elena was sure she could hear the mirth in his voice, and she almost wanted to stop abruptly in hopes of having him crash into her. She even might be able to step on his toes, if she were lucky.

She continued on nevertheless, swallowing her building irritation as she got closer to her room.

"What if that's just how long I take? You wouldn't know," she claimed just as she reached her door, turning to face the young man. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to take a shower. Could you tell the chef to prepare a fruit smoothie for me?"

Kemuri bowed slightly. "Whatever the young mistress requires."

/ / / / / / /

Elena starred furiously at the blank sheet of paper in front of her, desperately trying to get her brain to work. She glanced quickly to her side, noting she only had fifteen more minutes before her mid-term French exam would end, having yet to write anything on the paper. Their assignment seemed simple enough; write a 500-word long text concerning what they would do after graduating from the academy. Elena's problem wasn't particularly the theme but more so the language and length of the text. She hadn't been able to fully catch up with her class before the midterms, having never before studied the language, and her lack of knowledge showed.

Panic slowly kicking in, she tried to remember very simple and basic words, hoping she'd score at least somewhat well for good grammar, if not the required length. She managed to write down nearly two hundred words of completely speculative thoughts about her future before the bell rang, thus ending the exam.

Beside her she could hear Mariko letting out a relieved sigh; she'd probably managed to finish just in the nick of time. They returned their papers to their teacher and exited the class. Mariko took in a long intake of air, stretching out her arms in the process.

"I can't believe how tiring taking exams are; I'm completely exhausted! Thank god this was our final exam," she exclaimed whilst flecking her arms, letting them fall beside her afterwards.

Elena nodded in agreement, happy she didn't have to study for another exam. They'd had a total of seven exams during the week, including mathematics, history, English, French, and for girls, flower-arranging. Elena grimaced upon remembering how well that had went…

She vaguely noticed Mariko giving her a sly smile, her friend's eyes gleaming as she opened her mouth. "So… Now that our exams are over…" she began, though Elena was quick to interrupt her.

"No," she stated before the girl could finish her sentence, knowing very well what she had on her mind.

Mariko gave her a pout. "But you don't even know what I was going to say," she replied, continuing when Elena gave her a deadpan glance. "It didn't have anything to do with the Host Club if that's what you thought."

"Oh," Elena mumbled, her expression apologizing. "I just assumed… What is it then?"

Mariko rolled her eyes but continued all the same, her expression brightening. "What I was going to ask you what you would be wearing during next week's vacation? I was thinking of dressing up as an Eastern princess," she trailed off.

Elena felt her brow scrunch up from confusion. "Why would you dress up like that during vacation? I didn't even know we had one in the first place."

"Oh, that's right!" Mariko turned to her, realization clear in her voice. "You haven't been a student at Ouran for long so you don't know. After we finish taking our exams for the fall we're aloud a few days off until the end of October, during which we're aloud to throw costume parties at the academy," she explained, clearly excited. "In addition, each class is aloud to use an entire day for a special event of their choosing. We'll decide what we'll be doing later today while we have our class meeting."

Elena nodded, for once feeling strangely interested on the matter.

"So we'll have two days off at the beginning of next week? But we'll still have to come to school?" she asked doubtfully, not understanding the logic behind it.

Mariko shrugged. "Well, it's better than having lessons and studying for the next exams," she mused. "Believe it or not, but it's actually really fun! We usually have the class events on the first day and then a huge costume party for the entire school on the second day. Last year when I was still in junior high our class watched a horror movie late at night and we had a competition on who could watch it without freaking out. Our teacher was probably the first to wimp out," she giggled, remembering the incident. Focusing back to Elena, she gave her a questioning expression. "So, what will you be dressed as?"

Elena took a moment to consider what her friend had to say. To be honest, she'd been surprised Mariko hadn't even meant on bring up the Host Club, and this costume party was actually sounding fairly plausible on her part. Back in England, whilst the nation didn't have much of a Halloween tradition, she and her friends had arranged their own parties, dressing up in wacky costumes and eating candy until they felt like throwing up. She was pleasantly surprised to learn that Halloween was indeed celebrated in Japan, though she didn't know whether it was just Ouran. Even so, the idea of a Halloween party excited her.

"Well, considering I just learnt about the party, I don't know yet. Can you dress up as anything scary or is it limited to princessy kind of costumes?" she finally responded, giving Mariko an awaiting expression.

Mariko shook her head slightly, a smile on her face. "No, you can be whatever you want. I just happened to have an outfit already lying around and thought about using it. My father bought it for me from the Arab Emirates."

Elena frowned a bit. "I'm afraid I don't have anything like that just lying around…" she trailed off, rolling her eyes in the process.

"Hey! We could go look for a costume for you on the weekend!" Mariko suggested, smiling brightly. "I know this wonderful tailor who does outfits for all kinds of purposes; he could have something tailor-made for you."

Elena thought about it for a while, feeling slightly happy from the suggestion. She and Mariko hadn't hanged out outside of the academy and not including the dinner she'd attended with her father, she hadn't even gone out. The decision was surprisingly easy to make.

"Sure, we could do that. But I don't think I'll need anything tailor-made though," she answered with a smile, causing her friend to smile back.

"That's great! I'm sure we'll find something that looks great on you!" she exclaimed in an excited fashion, her hand moving into her bag to find her phone. "What's your number? I'll contact you tomorrow."

Elena quickly recited her number, Mariko doing the same as they switched numbers just as they got to the lunchroom, their conversation revolving around the soon-to-be party.

/ / / / / / /

Mariko called Elena on the following morning and they decided to meet up by the tailor store Mariko had told her about, Elena having her driver bring her there on time. It was weird seeing Mariko in civilian clothes, her choice of clothing being very different from the yellow dress they were to wear at school; the girl now dressed as if having just exited a fashion runway, dressed in what Elena could only guess to be this season's fashion. She felt a bit embarrassed for choosing to wear her simple wine red skirt, navy blue shirt and boots, but there was no going back now. Mariko didn't seem to mind what she was wearing anyway, the girl all too excited to find a costume for her. She led her inside the store, a male tailor coming up to greet them immediately when Mariko called for him.

"Ah, miss Akiyama! It's been too long!" the man greeted, giving Mariko a hug before focusing on Elena. "And you must be miss Kawamura? Welcome to my store, you can call me Kai. Tell me what I can do for you," he addressed her, smiling brightly as he motioned around the store with his hand. "I've got the region's top class tailor store, I can create anything you wish for."

Elena smiled awkwardly, sensing the same kind of excited vibe coming out of him as Mariko who seemed to have a hard time standing in one place. This was no doubt going to be a long day.

Hoping to get a few of her wishes threw she opened her mouth, knowing she didn't have much time before Mariko would take control of her appointment; her friend finding it difficult not to.

"Well, I was thinking of being a witch so perhaps a simple black dress would do…" she started, her voice dying as both Mariko and Kai gave her a deadpan expression, her thoughts obviously not pleasing them. She frowned. "What?"

"A witch? Really Elena?" Mariko groaned, looking as thought on the verge of face palming. "You can't be a simple witch at Ouran, you have to be something extraordinary!" she exclaimed, lifting her arms to measure the amount of grandness she expected.

Elena looked at her doubtfully, worried about her words. "Look, Mariko, I can't aim for extraordinary; it's just a costume party and I'll probably never wear it again so there's no sense of spending that much money on it. I'm paying for it myself you know…"

Mariko seemed to listen only vaguely, her hands roaming through a rack of expensive looking garments. She waved her off dismissively, pulling out one of the hangers.

"Yeah, yeah, I know Elena. Just have a look at these, you'd look so good in this!" Mariko chirped, showcasing a humongous pastel colored princess dress, leaving Elena to fight off a gagging reflex.

"No offense but I'm not putting that on," she finally managed to reply through her teeth, giving Kai an apologetic expression.

The man simply shrugged, a small smile gracing his face. "Hey, you can't please everyone. Luckily I have other types of costumes," he replied in a good manner before his face took a more serious expression, his eyes gleaming with mischief as he suddenly pulled out a notebook and pen, sketching vigorously amidst the sharp glances he gave Elena.

"But I must agree with miss Akiyama; you my dear have to draw the focus of everyone the moment you enter the room! I'm thinking big, bold and different!" he exclaimed, his voice growing more excited by the second as he furiously sketched, finally revealing his work by quickly turning his notebook, Mariko skipping back to Elena's side to see what the tailor had come up with.

Elena felt like choking.

"Renascence court," Kai stated proudly as Mariko gave his sketch a look of awe.

"Its amazing Kai; there's no way that Elena will go unnoticed wearing that! How fast can you get it done?" Mariko squealed excitedly, marveling the work Kai had come up with.

"I might have something in her size already done actually. It'll fit her perfectly with a few minor adjustments and she'll most likely be able to take it home today."

Elena's brain finally began working again albeit quite slow as she registered the conversation going on between the two, feeling alarm bells go off in her head. There was no way she was going to go anywhere dressed up like Marie Antoinette, be it a costume party or not. She quickly turned her eyes away from the notebook in favor of Kai, giving him an almost begging look.

"No, there's no reason to do that. I, um, don't believe I could carry that much dress…" she tried to explain, her excuse clearly not being bought by the looks she was given. "And even if I could, I doubt I'd have enough money to pay for it. It's lovely - don't get me wrong – but I just don't think it's my style. I don't really want to stand out too much, if at all…"

Kai's excited expression dimmed, clearly disappointed that his creation wasn't liked. He recovered quickly though, and before long his slight frown was molded into a gentle smile as he turned his notebook and quickly drew a figure resembling Elena's before turning his attention back to her, an inquiring expression on his face.

"Tell me then, what would be more your style? Any patterns, colors, themes?"

"Well, since it is a Halloween party I'd like to wear something, well, ghouly, if you know what I mean. I don't mind being something rather simple as long as I'd have something to wear," she tried to explain, hoping the young tailor would understand.

Kai nodded, his expression turning intensely focused as he began sketching slowly, glancing at Elena once and awhile before he seemed happy with his work. He handed her the notebook, flipping through a few pages to show her everything he'd come up with, surprisingly having drawn four different looks. Mariko marveled at the drawings beside her, exclaiming what she liked or loved about them when Elena flipped the pages.

Elena was amazed at the costumes he'd drawn for her, all of them matching her desired look. They all had a Halloweeny feel to them, the looks ranging from your traditional vampire to a kitsune, but it was the last drawing – a black, layered dress covered in lace - that caught her attention. It was long, probably reaching the ground if the wearer didn't use high heals but other than that it seemed so her. She could even imagine herself wearing it outside Halloween parties, with small adjustments of course.

Kai studied her intensely while she flipped through the pages, anxious to know what she thought.

"Tell me what you like and what you don't like. These are all ready-made costumes here at the store but I can also create a tailor-made costume from the things you like, albeit it's going to take a few days and cost more," he stated once Elena had once again reached the last page.

"They're all gorgeous," she ended up saying, raising her gaze from the drawings to face the young man, struggling how to continue. "I honestly like them all but I think this black dress would be my favorite," she explained as she pointed at the page in front of her, receiving a bright smile from the tailor, as well as Mariko, though her smile seemed somehow mischievous, much to Elena's confusion.

"How about trying it on then? I think I have one in your size," Kai suggested, eyeballing her before starting to make his way to the other end of the store, quickly searching through a rack before finding the dress and size he was looking for, holding out the dress for her to see.

"Yeah, sure," Elena mumbled as she stared at the dress. It looked even better than in the drawing, and for the first time in a while she hoped it would look good on her as well, almost ready to just buy it then and there.

Kai led her to the changing room; Mariko not far on his heals as they waited anxiously for Elena to change into the dress, thankfully waiting outside the room as Elena slipped into the dress, zipping it up fairly easily. She momentarily wondered how Kai had been able to guess her size just by looking at her but forgot about the matter as she stepped out of the changing room, nervously waiting to see how it looked on her, the separate changing room missing a mirror. She lightly lifted the hem of the dress to avoid tripping on it as she made her way to Kai and Mariko, nervously taking in their composed reactions, both merely raising their brows a bit.

"What? Does it look bad? Should I go change?" she asked nervously, already making to turn back when Kai let out a short burst of laughter, stopping her in her tracks.

He motioned her towards him, leading her towards a large mirror. "Why don't you see for yourself?" he replied with a mirth filled smile.

Elena was momentarily shocked as she took in her reflection. The dress fit her almost perfectly and it definitely didn't look bad on her. The lace sown into the silky fabric wasn't overpowering or making her feel like a grandmother, and there was just enough tulle to lift up the bottom without giving the typical cupcake effect. It was really nice; so nice indeed that she was scared to look at the price tag. Not to mention there was something else about the dress that seemed odd to her; she just couldn't put her finger on it…

She could see Mariko smiling gleefully from the mirror, her expression not helping the sudden nagging feeling that something wasn't right.

"Oh my lord you have to get that dress Elena, it's like meant for you! It looks so good on you," Mariko cheered her on, glancing towards Kai to draw out a reaction from him as well, the man nothing but smiles.

"It does look good, doesn't it? There's still one key element that's missing from this costume, though. I'll be back in a flash," he stated, quickly sprinting off somewhere, leaving Elena a little confused. She was wearing everything that he'd drawn, those being the dress and a pair of borrowed high heals.

She glanced at Mariko, hoping she knew what Kai was talking about, and the all too familiar smirk revealed that she indeed did know something.

"Found it!" Kai suddenly called out from what Elena could guess to be a storage room, quickly making his way back to the mirror, holding something black and folded in his hands. "Now close your eyes, I want to set this just right," he instructed her, Elena hesitating but obliging nevertheless. When she felt him put something in her hair she felt her stomach sink as realization hit her.

_Oh. My. Lord. Don't tell me…_

"There, all done. You can open your eyes," Kai informed her, Elena finding it hard to obey his wishes this time around.

She finally forced her eyelids open after realizing she didn't have much choice. She stared at herself in the mirror, feeling like an idiot as her suspicions were confirmed. It was a veil.

"This is… a wedding dress…"

"That it is, although it isn't as glamorous as the traditional wedding dresses I do. This one's meant to be a Halloween costume; I call it 'the Black Bride'. The veil really completes it," Kai explained beside her, sounding very proud of his creation.

"Well, you sure look like a bride out of a horror movie," Mariko smirked before cocking her head, giving her a questioning look. "Actually, I was a bit surprised when you chose that costume over the others; I originally thought you'd go for the vampire. But I'm not complaining; that dress looks great on you!" she stated, giving her a mischievous look. "Are you intending to make a statement for a certain someone…?" she inquired teasingly, her question nearly making Elena gasp.

"What? Of course not! I just didn't know…" she blurted out hastily before being able to rearrange her thoughts. She turned to Kai, cursing that her expression still betrayed her rising panic. "On second thought, could I be the kitsune instead?"

"Come on Elena, don't be silly. You know I'm only teasing you. Besides, I know you want that dress. And could you really leave such a dress after all the effort Kai put into you today?"

Elena could feel her panic begin to subside; the all too familiar feeling of guilt rising in return. She wondered how Mariko had become so good at manipulating people like this; making them do as she wished through guilt. Or maybe it was only her that the guilt-tactic worked on. Be it what may, it was beginning to work. Yet again.

_Though she __is__ right about the dress, it's simply gorgeous…_

Ultimately, that was one of the many reasons of how Elena found herself with a brand new and way too expensive Halloween costume.

/ / / / / / /

The following Monday was a school day unlike any other Elena had ever experienced before. The grand hallways of the buildings were decorated with black candlelit chandeliers, the windows covered with heavy, black velvet drapes to prevent any light coming in. Rubber bats and spiders of various size were scattered here and there throughout the school and to top it off, there were also actual human skeletons hanging from the ceiling, setting a near morbid atmosphere to the usually happy-go-lucky-feel to the school. Mariko had explained that - like always – the decorating was carried out by the dark magic club; yet another club that Elena found too hard to comprehend.

As she made her way through the torch-lit hallways to her homeroom, she couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive. Apparently all of the classes had decided that their class-events were to involve not only their own but all of the rest from their year. Class B was doing a haunted house whilst her class had decided to do a horror café, all the foods served having certain scary aspects to them. She'd heard wild rumors of class A's plans of a scare competition complete with a one way ticket to humiliation, but as she'd heard dozens of different versions of their plans, she doubted that would be the case. She hadn't heard any details of what class D was planning on doing but she'd decided she wasn't going to find out either.

She'd had an unlucky draw on the Friday before, having been picked as a waitress for the first hour of the night, leaving her tied to her homeroom for the majority of the events. To top it off, Mariko was on the shift after her so they couldn't explore the events together.

She finally arrived to her destination, greeted by an almost full-fledged café as she entered the room. She marveled for a moment on how genuine the setting felt, the usual school desks having been replaced with medium-sized round tables, complete with black, laced tablecloths and gothic china, a single black rose adorning each table, placed neatly inside small, crimson vases. The faint yet somehow eerie background music gave the finishing touch to their event.

"Elena, over here!" Rina, one of her classmates waved her over to the far end of the room, offering her a large, rectangular box.

She obliged, quickly making her way to the other girl and taking the box, smiling slightly upon doing so. "This place looks incredible! You really did a spectacular job," she complemented her, Rina having been decorating their classroom since midday.

"Thanks, I'm quite pleased myself. Lately I've been doing some decorating around the house; the servants say I have great taste," Rina stated, clearly satisfied. "Now, it's almost six pm so I need you to go change into your costume," she reminded her, effectively shooing Elena to the temporary changing room, normally functioning as their class's storage room.

Elena felt like a child on Christmas day as she opened the lid of her box, wondering what costume she had gotten. To avoid arguments, they'd decided that they'd simply be handed a Halloween inspired waitress costume at random as soon as they arrived on spot. Personally she liked the idea; it was fair yet fun all at once. Lifting the lid, she was greeted by a gothic styled maid's outfit, her eyes widening when she realized the hem just barely reached her knees. She briefly wondered how much power the boys had had on their costumes, doubting Ouran would ever permit skirts as short as her outfit had. She was perfectly fine wearing it though; it was just a costume after all.

Once she'd lifted the maid's outfit out of the box she noticed a pair of white fox ears and a fox mask. She even had a tail, much to her amusement as she realized that her costume was a kitsune. Or more accurately some sort of kitsune-maid hybrid.

_Okay, now I know that the guys picked our costumes; who thinks of stuff like this anyway?_

Regardless of her thoughts, she quickly changed into the outfit, debating whether or not she should wear the mask as well. She sneaked a peak of herself from the mirror, fidgeting with her hair and mask. The dress fit her all right and the ribbon that the ears were attached to stayed nicely in place atop of her head, her hair styled hastily so that it covered the ribbon, giving the illusion of her actually having fox ears. The tail had caused a few problems at first but she'd managed to get it on nevertheless, eyeing it speculatively through the mirror.

_God I look ridiculous! Are there honestly guys that go for this look?_

Running out of time to further dwell on the matter, she exited the storage room and quickly placed her things away from sight, making her way to the door and joining the line of six other classmates of hers, all dressed in similar costumes. It seemed they were all kitsune, the only thing separating them were their coloring and amount of tails. Rina was already dressed in her costume, rallying up her troops just as the bell tower began to ring, signaling the start of the evening events.

The first thirty minutes or so went by in a blur as their makeshift café drew in enough people to actually form a line in the hallway. Elena had lost count of how many plates of questionable food she'd brought for their unsuspecting schoolmates. She hadn't been surprised that the majority of their 'costumers' were guys, even containing some second and third year students despite meant for mainly first years.

She was currently serving a table occupied by a couple of male students from 1-D, much to her discomfort as she didn't know whether they were yakuza or not. All her other classmates seemed to think they were though as they'd sighed in relief when the three boys had chosen one of the tables Elena had been charged to look after. They were also beginning to get on her nerves, making crude jokes about her outfit and what they'd like to have beside the items on the menu. She'd just fetched a plate of '100 year-old cupcakes' aka blueberry and chocolate cupcakes covered with some cotton candy, and was just about to check on her other table when one of the boy's opened his mouth.

"You know you're rather boring for a kitsune," he simply stated as he bit into his cupcake without a second thought, his comment effectively pulling her to a stop.

"Yeah, aren't you supposed to do magic?" one of the other boys asked pointedly, also digging into his food.

Elena gave them a deadpan expression though it was rather worthless whilst wearing her mask. "You know it's just a costume," she replied after a moment of silence, trying to emphasize her words at the right time in hopes of making her point. "Now if you don't mind, I have other tables to attend to."

She just barely managed to turn around and take a step forward when she felt herself being pulled to a stop, suddenly being yanked backwards. The metal rim that secured her tail to rest above her pelvis angrily bit into her skin as someone yanked her backwards from the tail and she yelped in pain from the unexpected deed, her eyes stinging with tears. Still hurting, her pain was beginning to numb away due to her rising anger, her temper finally getting the best of her as she turned around to face the unfortunate individual who'd mistakenly pulled her tail. All of the boys seemed amused at her antics, further irritating her.

"Let go of my tail this instant you pig!" she sneered at him through her teeth, still having the sense to keep her voice down, slapping the boy's fingers in effort to make him let go. "You think it's funny being pulled by this thing? This is practically an assault!" she fumed, deciding then and there that she would report of the matter.

She swatted at him again, this time applying more force than before, accomplishing her desired result. The boy hissed as her hand slapped his, drawing it back in order to assess the damage. Elena noticed a spec of blood on the boy's hand, feeling oddly satisfied for her accomplishment before the reality of what she'd done hit her.

_I just caused bodily harm to a potential member of the yakuza… I'm so dead…_

Suddenly she felt hands gripping both of her arms and before she knew it she was being pulled towards to boys, all of them sporting menacing glares. The boy that had originally grabbed her by the tail seemed as if crazed as he pulled her down to his level.

"What the hell woman! Do you know who I am? I'm a part of the Ogakuzu syndicate, damnit!" he began shouting in a maddened rage, the two of them catching the attention of everyone in the room, furthering Elena's discomfort.

She just had to hit him, didn't she? He was no doubt debating how he should deal with her, Elena seriously doubting her chances of getting away scot-free like she'd somehow managed to do so far every time she had a run-in with someone from the yakuza.

From behind her mask Elena tried to catch her classmates' attention, hoping they'd help her out of the rather sticky situation, all the while demanding to be let go of, though she doubted her efforts would do anything. To her despair no one in the room reacted in any way of helping her, and she watched in rising panic at her classmates who all seemed frozen in place, even averting their eyes from what was happening right in front of them.

_Figures I'm on my own against the yakuza… Damnit why can't I seem to avoid them like everyone else?! Why is it always me in these situations?_

Feeling herself turning a little lightheaded, Elena tried to focus on breathing; her breaths and heart rate pounding in her ears, her mask causing any sound to increase by volume. She flinched as more pressure was applied to her forearms, refocusing her eyes on the yakuza in front of her.

"You're gonna pay for injuring me," the boy sneered at her as he made to grab both of her arms in one hand, his now free hand reaching for her mask.

Her eyes widened and she began struggling against him, trying to get away. The last thing she wanted was for him to match her face to her name. Her resistance seemed to be in vain though as he grabbed ahold of the fox mask and effortlessly pulled it aside, thus revealing her face for him to see. She was starting to feel angry again, this time for herself for letting this happen in the first place. Her newfound anger nevertheless hid a fraction of her utter terror of the boy as he eyed her with her glaring daggers at him and his posse. She was a bit surprised when the two behind her current menace actually took a step or two backwards. Her technique didn't fair as well on her capturer who still had her in a tight hold as he studied her face, Elena once again beginning to struggle for dear life. The boy merely yanked on her arms, effectively stopping her struggling.

"Quit it and let me see your face," he demanded impatiently, bringing his hand to grab her jaw when she tried to avert his gaze.

She wanted to close her eyes but was too afraid of what he might do if she did. She didn't like the look he was giving her, his once angry expression quickly morphing into a cruel smirk. It wasn't hard to figure out what he was thinking about.

Just then one of the other boys moved slightly towards the yakuza from the Ogakuzu syndicate, his hand hovering towards the other's shoulder, his eyes pinned on Elena.

"H-hey boss," he began, his voice laced with anticipation as he kept his eyes unmoving, the other boy merely letting out an irritated voice, shrugging the hand off.

"Not now."

"B-but boss, I really think we should-"

"Shut up, will you! I'm not finished," he all but roared, still holding firm onto Elena's face.

He hummed, his satisfaction clear in his voice as he let go of her face.

"You must be the foreign girl that I've heard about. There's a few guys in my grade that'd kill to get their hands on you…" he stated bluntly, smirking knowingly when Elena flinched, having guessed whom he was referring to. "If you catch my drift that is…" he continued, his eyes dropping slightly to the front of her costume, a crude smirk appearing on his face upon doing so. "Though who knows, maybe if you behave I won't hand you over to them."

She immediately tried to pull back, only just realizing her rather insinuating position before the yakuza.

"Let go of me now or I swear I'll kick you where it hurts," she managed to voice out her threat, emphasizing her words by lifting her other foot.

It seemed to work, the boy releasing her immediately, an expression of horror twisting his face while he himself choked on his words, his eyes wide, somehow seeming rather far away. Be it what may, Elena wasn't about to waste her chance of escape, taking several steps backward, hoping to put as much distance between him and her. Not even three steps away from the group of boys, her back suddenly hit someone and she froze in shock, hoping to god that it was someone from her class.

She quickly looked up at the person she'd bumped into, momentarily unable to breath when all her eyes could register was crimson and a facial expression so horrifying she almost expected to die of a heart attack.

If looks could kill, Ritsu Kasanoda would've no doubt murdered the entire classroom just then.


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: **I realize it's been far too long (yet again) since I last updated this story. To be honest I've had this chapter nearly finished for probably well over a month now and I finally got around to finalizing it during the weekend. I know it's far shorter than the previous one but I figured I'd at least put something out there rather then nothing for possibly a few more weeks. Oh and I'd still like to stress that english isn't my first language and I have no beta for this story, so there will inevitably be a few grammar mistakes here and there. If you spot any errors that disrupt your reading experience please inform me of them and I'll correct them. Thank you!

On other notes, it was recently brought to my attention that this story already has over 60 followers and an astounding 50 favorites. Words cannot even begin to express how grateful I'm to all of you whom like my story; it really means a lot to me! Thank you! I hope you all enjoy this new chapter and the ones to follow (you guys rock!) ^^

review replies:  
Thetroublewithexes: Thank you very much for the review; it was lovely! I'm glad you like the pace I'm going at since I'm trying to pay tribute to Ritsu by trying to write a very long story :) I also hope I'll be able to update more often, we'll just have to wait and see whether I can.  
Molly Grace 16: You'll get to read about Elena's reaction in this chapter!  
hardeehar: The next chapter is finally here!  
XpixieXsticksX: I'm so happy you liked the last chapter, hopefully you find this one as good as the previous ^^  
Jacquelina-Comm: Oh yes, Ritsu to the rescue!  
Mariana Lestrange: You're very welcome! :)  
SnowWhiteWolf14: Thank you very much! I'm beyond happy that you feel that way! I hope you like this new chapter as well :)  
Blahblahcat: Here's more!  
Patchwork Knightess: I hope this was soon enough :) Enjoy the new chapter!

* * *

Chapter 8.

Ritsu Kasanoda walked aimlessly through the hallways of Ouran, paying hardly any attention on where he was heading, caring little to nothing where he ended up. Tonight was when the entire school spent the evening doing something together, most of the classes having decided to hold events meant for not only themselves but for other grades as well – sort of like a cultural festival Halloween-styled. Ritsu's class, however, hadn't been able to come to an agreement of what they wanted to do, and as such they were tasked to merely participate in the other events until the night was over.

Ritsu was more than fine with that as he seldom participated in any group project or such anyway due to the fact that others were scared to death being around him, let alone work together with him. He'd much rather do the projects on his own than have someone being forced to work with him.

As he continued his way on, he couldn't help but sneak glances at the costumes people were wearing and the joy they clearly felt as they explored what the school had to offer. Ritsu himself hadn't worn a costume, having decided to go in his civilian clothing, figuring it'd be enough for people to still think he'd put an effort in dressing up as something. Besides, they would no doubt assume he was dressed as a yakuza no matter what he wore.

_Well, except maybe a dress. _

He grimaced, shuddering at the thought. He wouldn't go that far into trying to befriend others; it wasn't like he was desperate.

Turning around a corner, he spotted a long line heading towards one of the first year homerooms and briefly wondered what kind of event they had come up with. It probably wasn't another haunter house; he'd already been to one of those. He got the feeling he'd been the scariest thing there.

He continued on walking forward, trying to not draw too much attention by asking anyone in the line what exactly they were queuing up for; deciding to merely see for himself. To his relief no one seemed to pay attention to him as he slowly walked past the long line, congratulating himself for having chosen to wear a hoodie; the large hood effectively hiding one of his otherwise trademark features. He carefully slipped a glance inside the classroom as he walked by the open door, noticing the room had been drastically rearranged to resemble a café.

Feeling somewhat curious, he boldly tempted a quick glance at the numerous small menus hung neatly on the walls next to the room, feeling slightly repulsed as he took in the bizarre and off-putting foods class 1-C were serving. Not even halfway through the menu, he decided he'd pass; his appetite as good as gone. Contrary to most people's belief, Ritsu – ironically –had a rather weak stomach – especially when it concerned food. Just the thought of having to eat some slimy, mold-covered thing – be it how faked – almost made him run to the restroom. He couldn't comprehend why so many wanted to try the foods. They were probably dared.

Mid-step of continuing his way before anyone could witness the feared yakuza heir losing his lunch, a sudden shriek echoed from within the classroom, causing Ritsu to momentarily halt. He noticed how the students queuing up had gone unnervingly silent and for a moment he thought his cover had failed until he noticed none of them were looking at him. An angry male voice boomed from within the room and at once the students outside began whispering feverishly in hushed voices, the ones closest to the door huddling closer together to get a better view inside the room, obviously curious despite the tense atmosphere.

"Aren't those guys yakuza?"

"Poor girl, I wonder what she did to anger them like that…"

"Did you see how she hit him? She must be insane!"

"She's a goner for sure, no one messes with the yakuza and lives…"

The hushed whispers sparked something within Ritsu, and as the students continued whispering to one another describing what they saw, he suddenly felt oddly anxious.

_Oh man, did that person have a death wish on them? Who in their right mind would dare to hit a yakuza?_

He became aware of the almost overwhelming need to see whom the students were talking about but unfortunately he couldn't see anything from behind the mass of students blocking the doorway. Somehow, he had a bad feeling about this. There weren't many who'd dare to go up against another yakuza even within his class, let alone outside the class. He found himself wishing that they were just some punks establishing their pecking order.

"Oh, it's that foreign girl…" he heard someone suddenly whisper and the comment caused him to freeze momentarily as recognition slowly hit him.

…_Oh crap! It can't be… Kawamura?_

"Hm, is that her name? I didn-."

Ritsu blinked, slowly lowering his gaze to the male student whom was now frozen in place, his facial expression twisted into a look of pure terror. Realizing he must've spoken his previous thought out loud, Ritsu let out a forceful grunt, trying to mask his growing embarrassment. The small noise was all that it took for the students to clear the doorway as they all but hurled themselves out of his proximity, leaving Ritsu with a clear view of the brown-haired girl; the sole person in years who hadn't been utterly terrified of him, who'd insisted she wasn't afraid of him. Her face was being held by one of his classmates – _Hiro Ogakuze_ – he noted, clearly against her will as she struggled to free herself from the boy's iron grip.

_He's hurting her…_

He realized he was much closer to them now, somehow having made his way inside the room. He felt somewhat surreal, like in the middle of a dream. He couldn't hear anything besides the blood rushing in his ears, couldn't feel anything but anger. The distance seemed to pass by itself before he realized he must've been walking even though he couldn't register moving his legs. All he saw was red.

Elena suddenly broke free from his classmate's grasp, stumbling into him in her hasty retreat. He vaguely registered how small and fragile she seemed as her body collided with his; though this time she hardly managed to even make him lose his balance compared to the last time they'd both ended up on the floor.

Hiro Ogakuze stared at him with wide eyes; his mouth moving but producing only cracked chokes, his words vanishing after just one syllable. Two of his lackeys wore similar expressions behind him, though they remained silent, not even bothering to open their mouths. Elena had also seemed to freeze upon realizing whom she'd bumped into, her eyes still looking at him as the seconds passed. Even in the middle of his angered state, Ritsu could still feel and hear her hitched breathing, her closeness starting to drain some of his more darker thoughts out of his head, suddenly realizing the growing anxiousness and embarrassment that her presence stirred within him.

Feeling his face grow redder by the second, he quickly decided he needed to get her farther away from him in order to focus on the matter at hand. With great focus, he forced himself to push Elena aside as gently and refined as he could; not wanting to hurt her in his still wavering state. With her out of his way, there was little that separated him from her apparent harasser. The sense of his hand on her face seemed to play inside Ritsu's mind on repeat the longer he stared at his classmate. All reason seemed to escape his mind as he eyed the trembling yakuza, almost hoping someone would snap the last strings of his restrain in order for him to justify unleashing his rage onto the terrified boy.

Hiro desperately tried to find his voice again without choking all of his words, most likely figuring out what was about to happen. "K-kk Kasanoda… Www-what are y-you doing here?" he managed to choke out before he once again lost his ability to speak, his mouth opening and closing like a fish on dry land. When Ritsu didn't reply, he seemed to get a boost of confidence that he'd still be able to get out of his situation without much fuss. Licking his dry lips, he found his voice once more. "You know that girl? So, did you want in on the action as well…?"

Hiro seemed to realize that what he had just said was the single most idiotic thing he could've come up with even before Ritsu took in a lungful of air. Hiro paled; fearing his response.

"AAAAAAAAAARRHHH!"

Truly, his father's lessons from so long ago had contributed to his now perfected yell and glare, the mere sound of his voice causing the boy in front of him to nearly crumple down. Usually Ritsu tried not to resort to this but in a situation like this he was just too angry and pissed off to care whether everyone would fear him even more than before, the overwhelming need to put the lower yakuza in his place throwing his cautiousness out the window.

"Pp-p-please f-forgive me! I don't want to d-die! Please don't k-kill me!" the boy yelled desperately from the floor, averting his eyes completely from Ritsu as he tried to inch his way away from him; the sight of his retreating form pitiful and pathetic.

The sight of the terrified boy along with his words hit a cord in Ritsu, causing his mind to slowly clear from the red hue that had controlled his actions until now. He instantly realized his mistake, cursing vividly within his mind as he registered what he'd done. He slowly turned to glance at the people inside the room who'd witnessed his outburst, his heart beginning to sting as he took in the looks of shock and fear. The students were pressed against each other as far away from him as possible, vaguely reminding him of a bomb going off.

The only person excluding his classmates standing near him was Elena – still frozen into place, not having moved an inch from where he'd moved her. He couldn't bear to look at her, fearing he'd see the same horrified expression plastered on her face. She was the only person who'd at one point treated him as if he were normal, and he strongly doubted that her earlier declaration of not being afraid of him still held. For the first time in several years he felt pained about possibly losing a tie to another person.

He felt his heartbeat start to race, his breathing all too audible in his ears as he registered that all eyes were now on him, waiting and fearing for his next outburst. He couldn't handle it.

_I have to get away…_

Averting his eyes from the people around, he was about to simply rush out of the room when he was interrupted by a voice, just barely audible in his panicked state.

"You're wrong," Elena suddenly stated, her voice shaking slightly as she took a moment to swallow.

Ritsu dared to drop his eyes to glance at her, confused about her statement. What had he been wrong about? He hadn't said anything, had he?

Noticing her eyes were pinned on Hiro, he quickly deduced her comment had been meant for the boy, though Ritsu couldn't quite remember what he'd even said.

Hiro gave Elena an incredulous look as he slowly began to recover from his frozen state on the floor. "He wouldn't do that… He's not that kind of a person," Elena continued after a moment, her voice stronger than before as she kept her eyes on Hiro. "He wouldn't kill… You're wrong!"

Shocked, Ritsu turned to stare at her; her words having caught him off-guard. She'd been referring to Hiro's pleas to not kill him. Of course Ritsu would've never laid a finger on him – he had his morals – yet it was almost expected of him to drag the boy somewhere to slaughter him. To say Ritsu was surprised someone saw him as something other than a ruthless yakuza was a huge understatement, but to have that same person go as far as to defend him in a sort of way was nearly overwhelming for him.

Without thinking he grabbed the girl by the arm and started making his way out of the classroom, effectively pulling her along with him. He'd had enough of being the center of attention for the night and just wanted to get the hell away from everyone. Only after he'd pulled the frail girl along with him for two corridors and a floor had he somehow reasoned that she would've most likely been in even more trouble had he just left her behind. The least he could do was repay her kindness by keeping her relatively safe for the remaining night.

Her utter quietness and lack of resistance was enough proof that she still wasn't fully recovered from her earlier ordeal, and with that in mind he figured he should get her somewhere safe. After a few moments of feverish thinking he concluded that the nurse's room was probably the best choice, and without a word he started pulling her towards the school's infirmary; hoping it'd at least be open.

They didn't get very far until Ritsu finally felt Elena start to waver behind him; her now resisting body becoming harder and harder to pull along. He stopped when he felt her other hand reach for the one she was being pulled from, her fingers settling over his grip, trying to pry his hand away. He took a risk and decided to keep going; they were only another few turns and a corridor away from the nurse's.

"Uh, excuse me," he heard her speak as he guided her onwards, her tugging becoming stronger when he didn't respond. She kept tugging, trying to plant her feet to the ground in order to get him to stop. "Hey, I'm talking to you," she spoke once more, slight exhaustion now present in her otherwise recovered voice. When he still didn't reply, she let out a long sigh behind him. "Please, could you at least loosen your grip? You're hurting my hand…" she pleaded weakly, wincing when her attempt to pull free ended up in Ritsu tightening his grip.

Ritsu's eyes widened at her comment and he instantly letting go of her hand as he turned around to look at her. Now free, Elena took a step backward, keeping her hands near her chest as she looked at him with uncertain eyes. He instantly regretted not respecting her wishes, his face morphing into a look of distress.

"Ahh, I'm so sorry, I didn't want to hurt you!" he blurted out without thinking, feeling his face start to redden yet again. "I-I just…" he started, gulping out of his nervousness, watching how the girl's expression hardly changed despite his efforts to explain. He sighed, his eyes shifting away to briefly look at the wall. "I wasn't thinking clearly. My presence only made things worse for you. I didn't feel right leaving you there with my classmates…" He knew it wasn't much of an explanation but it was all he could manage at the moment. His nerves were getting the better of him when she watched him; the familiar feeling of embarrassment flooding his mind.

She shook her head in response, taking another step back but whether it was from fear or a reflex, he couldn't tell. "No, it's alright. I wasn't planning on staying anyway…" she stated weakly, her voice suddenly disappearing as she began to sway a little, a hand rising to touch her head. "And besides, if it hadn't been for you…" her voice grew weaker by the word, and she seemed tired; her eyes starting to fall shut.

_Oh crap, don't tell me she's gonna faint!_

Instinctively he made to grab her by her arms, intending to guild her to a chair of something but hesitated, fearing she wouldn't want him to touch her again after having pulled her along forcefully. Swallowing, he tried to catch her eyes and explain what he was about to do but succeeded in only catching a glance at her swaying brown hair as she stumbled forward, his arms reaching out to her before he even got his thoughts in order.

/ / / / / / /

It took a moment for Elena to register she'd managed to escape the clutches of the crude yakuza, only to find herself in the hands of another – albeit this one hadn't exactly come up as crude. This time the yakuza had long red hair that threatened to pry a very unladylike snort out of her as it tickled her face, swaying back and forth mere millimeters above her cheeks and nose. The odd thought of why that hair was so close to her face was beginning to flicker in her mind but it was soon forgotten when she felt a slight pressure on the side of her body, feeling a warmth radiate beside her.

Trying to sharpen her still blurry vision, she blinked once, then again as she took in her surroundings. She was no longer in her homeroom, somehow having ended up at one of the many corridors of the school. She was moving in a slow pace, though it wasn't her who was doing the walking. The red hair swayed lightly across her face and the sudden curious thought about its texture left her feeling in dire need of touching it of confirm her rising curiosity. Her hand was already rising, closing in on his hair when she suddenly felt his walking jerk to a stop, startling her out of her current doing, her hand falling back to her side.

"You're awake," Ritsu stated, his voice a mixture of awkwardness and anxiousness, the same emotions reflected on his face as she looked up at him. His face was starting to turn a light shade of red as she held his gaze and he quickly returned his eyes back ahead of him as he continued walking down the corridor.

It took her another moment or so to rally herself to be able to speak, utterly confused why the red haired yakuza was carrying her.

"Um," Elena started, testing her voice before continuing, "why are you carrying me?"

"You fainted," Ritsu began slowly, as if afraid of how she would react to the information. "But only for a minute or two. A-and don't worry, I didn't do anything to you other than carry you," he clarified, his voice tense as he eyed her unsurely.

"I fainted?" she repeated, thinking back to the moment before she had blanked out. She did remember feeling a bit hazy after her ordeal. She was sure she would've passed out whether she'd been pulled around the school or not. Shifting ever so slightly in the yakuza's hold, she noticed she hadn't seemed to suffer any injuries from her fainting, bringing her hand up to touch her head in order to confirm there weren't any bumps there either.

"Mm yeah," Ritsu confirmed against her, giving her another uncertain look before continuing, his cheeks reddening faster as he turned to look away once again, "actually, you sort of fainted… on me."

She was quiet for a moment, taking in what he said. Realization hit her like a wall of bricks.

"What?!" she choked out in horror, keeping her eyes on his face as she watched him slowly become almost as red as his hair. She soon found her own face beginning to burn and she desperately tried to hide her embarrassment by bringing her hands to cover her face.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried out in morbid horror, unable to face the young man anymore. "This is honestly the first time I've ever passed out on someone… Oh lord, this is so embarrassing," she murmured, her heart pounding in her ears as she unconsciously pressed herself closer to Ritsu's body, realizing her mistake immediately when the yakuza stiffened against her. She tried to push herself as far away from him as possible, unable to look at his face.

"I'm so sorry, I've been such a nuisance to you whenever we run into each other. This time I even unconsciously made you carry me," she apologized, her voice growing quieter with every word. She felt guilty and beyond embarrassed.

"Eh? No, it's nothi-"

"I can walk by myself now, thank you," she interrupted him quickly, trying to get him to put her down by lightly squirming in his grasp.

To her great dismay, the yakuza held on and continued walking, and when she finally dared to look at his face, he still wore a light red hue across his face; his eyes focused somewhere far ahead.

"No, it's fine. I don't mind carrying you. You might get lightheaded again so better be safe than sorry." His words were stiff and erratically paced but she could still sense he was being honest with her and as such she ceased her struggling – at least for the time being.

"So, where are we heading?" she inquired, daring to glance up at his face.

Ritsu kept his eyes forward, a focused expression plastered on his face.

"Well, originally I'd planned on taking you to the nurse's but it seems like no one's there at the moment," he replied in his deep voice, taking a break to breath, "I guess I was thinking of finding a couch or chair of some sort so you could sit down somewhere."

"Oh," she replied, feeling somewhat surprised for his intentions.

_Then again, from what I've learned about him as a person, his actions shouldn't really surprise that much. He's genuinely a very caring person. I wonder whether he knows it himself…_

"Thank you for what you did back at the café by the way," she murmured lightly, feeling him once again stiffen slightly against her.

"I-it's n-nothing."

She frowned, tilting her head so she could see his face properly. "I mean it Ritsu. If you hadn't been there I don't know what those guys would've done to me. The other students were so afraid of the yakuza and what they might do to them if they even attempted to help me that they outright ignore what was happening in front of their eyes. But you didn't! So thank you for saving me."

Ritsu had stopped again, his face twisted into a bizarre mixture of astonishment and confusion. He stared at her with round eyes, his gaze so intense Elena had to force herself not to look away, somehow sensing how important the moment was for him. She waited patiently for him to say something, briefly wondering whether she'd said something wrong. When he finally opened his mouth, his words took her by surprise.

"You…said my name."

/ / / / / / /

Ritsu stared at the girl in his arms in mute astonishment. She'd said his name. Willingly. She'd said his name and she didn't even seem to realize how big of a deal it was for a person like him. For years he'd craved for someone to call him by his given name by his or her own choice. When he'd been younger he'd used his status as the heir to more or less force his fellas into calling him Ritsu, but even then they hadn't dropped the honorifics. It hadn't taken long anyway for him to realize making someone call you by your name wasn't the same as to have him or her say it willingly. He hadn't succeeded in having even his closest men call him anything but waka, and here was this foreign girl he'd met a few times before, already calling him by his first name like it was the most natural thing in the world.

He forced himself not to overthink about the matter, the rational part of his brain reminding him that she was indeed foreign and most likely unfamiliar using honorifics and such. People from the west tended to address each other by their first names didn't they? She was just used to it.

Even so, he still couldn't help wonder whether she said it intentionally.

She was still looking at him, firmly holding his gaze as a small hint of realization shined through her eyes. "Yeah," she replied slowly, her expression changing from curious to unsure as she looked at him uncertainly. "Shouldn't have I? You're not mad are you? I'm not used to calling people by their last names. I'm sorry, I'll try to call you Kasanoda-san from now on."

He gave her an astounded look. "No!" he nearly shouted back at her, catching her unsure gaze. "Ritsu's fine; no honorifics though." When she nodded, he continued. "How could I get mad about that anyway?"

_If anything I'm happy._

An uncomfortable silence set between them, making Ritsu feel more awkward by the moment. Forcing himself to raise his eyes from Elena's, he jerked into motion as he tried to spot a chair for her to sit on. Luck wasn't on his side tonight though, as it seemed all of the stray chairs and couches had been moved out of the way in favor of the decorations. At this point he probably should just let her walk on her own…

She seemed to notice what he was thinking about.

"You know, you really don't have to carry me anymore. I feel fine and I'm confident that I can walk by myself now," she stated once more as she carefully tried to pry herself out of his arms.

This time Ritsu wasn't about to make any more excuses, figuring she was probably right. He set her down gently and tried not to think of it too much when she put a few feet of distance between them, keeping his eyes on her face for any indications of passing out again. She took a couple of steps here and there before facing him again.

"Yeah, no problems here," she stated before taking a better look around her. "So, where exactly are we now? I'm getting better at recognizing places but with these decorations I can't really tell."

"Third floor, near the second library," he answered, his gaze dropping further down her face when he saw something move in the corner of his eye. An obscure sound threatened to escape his mouth and his eyes widened as he noticed what she was wearing. True to their café-theme, it seemed like the servers from class 1-C were some sort of animal-maid-hybrids; short skirts, tails and all. It was such a dramatic change from what the female students usually wore and he couldn't help but blush as he thought about her having gone around the school dressed like that. He had to bite his tongue in order not to blurt out anything he was thinking of at the moment.

_How in the world did I miss THAT? And that tail…!_

Still blazing red, he quickly turned his eyes away from her and tried to think of anything besides the girl who so innocently wore such an outfit. So far he was failing miserably. Fortunately Elena had yet to realize his state.

"The library, huh?" she murmured out loud, seemingly deep in thought. "So if I take this corridor and turn left, go down a set of stairs, then turn right, I should end up back to my homeroom, right?" she wondered, moving in front of him to confirm her assumptions.

Ritsu swallowed, briefly wondering if he would be able to answer her question without blurting out a comment about the way she was dressed, eventually deciding to merely nod.

"Great. I really wouldn't want to go back there just yet but all of my things are still there," she explained as she started to make her way along the long corridor.

Her statement caused Ritsu to momentarily snap out of his daze as he was left standing in the middle of the corridor. He must've let out some sort of sound when Elena stopped and spun around.

"Thank you again for helping me tonight but I really have to return to my homeroom. Bye," she smiled briefly, lifting her hand as a small wave goodbye.

There were many things Ritsu felt like saying in return yet he kept his mouth shut and merely nodded stiffly, still not trusting his voice. He watched as she disappeared behind a corner and let out a long sigh. It'd certainly been one hell of a night.

Turning around, he headed towards another set of stairs; deciding it was about time he headed home. His father was adamant they spoke tonight – of what, he didn't know. The low sound of the clock tower's bell tolling indicated that it was already eight pm anyway, so technically he was aloud to leave. Quickly making his way down two floors, he finally ended up on the ground floor. Finding the first exit to the courtyard, he briskly started to make his way to the gates; figuring he'd get home faster walking rather than calling someone to come pick him up. He needed the extra time to think through everything that had already happened tonight.

The air was surprisingly cool and crisp; a testimony of the celebration currently being held. Pulling his hood back over his head, he set himself a fairly fast pace, briefly wondering whether tomorrow night would be as chilly. He sighed heavily, not looking forward to the next day at all. The last thing he felt like doing was to attend the costume ball on the following night but he had no choice but to participate; his father not tolerating any skipping, be it a normal school day or not.

Making it past the last corner to his house, the few men stationed just outside the gates recognized him immediately, carefully making their way to him, meeting him halfway.

"Young lord! We weren't informed of your arrival."

"Were you not able to reach your driver?"

Ritsu merely continued on, keeping his eyes forward.

"I felt like walking," he responded dryly, glancing back at the two large men. "I wasn't aware that as the lord of the house I had to inform anyone of where and when I go…."

"Our apologizes, young lord! It wasn't our right to question you!" the men instantly replied, both having frozen in place after catching Ritsu's gaze.

The large wooden doors opened slowly as he entered the large courtyard, the few men patrolling the yard greeting him respectively. He could see a young man with long light brownish hair approach him from the corner of his eye, and Ritsu slowed his pace so that the young man could reach him before he entered the house.

"Young lord," Tetsuya greeted him calmly, continuing after Ritsu had nodded. "The master wishes to speak with you before you retire for bed. He's waiting for you in his study."

Ritsu replied with a grunt before starting to head for said room, mentally sighing as he thought about what his father possibly wanted to discuss. After everything that had happened tonight, Ritsu couldn't wait to go to bed.

He entered the room after indicating of his presence and went to take a seat before his father; the older man swiftly finishing whatever he was writing on a piece of paper before giving his son a stern look.

"Ah, Ritsu. I wasn't expecting you until another hour. You didn't skip school, did you?"

To this, Ritsu actually sighed, bringing his hand up to his hair and run it through it. "Nah, I was there. Wasn't that entertaining anymore so I left."

"I see. You should know what'll happen should I get a notice from any of your teachers indicating otherwise," his father replied, casting him a well-trained, demanding gaze.

Ritsu nodded, mentally shivering after remembering the times he'd upset his father in any way. His father had always been quite strict on him, holding high expectations for the future syndicate leader. His father hadn't gotten the change to attend a prestigious high school back in his youth and he held education in high value. Ritsu understood his father's intentions, but it was times like these that his father's ignorance of the situation Ritsu was in showed.

"Good. I expect you to take tomorrow's event more seriously though. The entire school will be there; it's your chance to make new contacts and keep an eye on old ones. Have a word with those few Ishigaki members from the second year; I have a feeling they'll try and switch alliances."

Ritsu grimaced, not liking where the conversation was heading. Coughing lightly, he gave his father a stern expression.

"So was that what you wanted to talk about? Tomorrow?" he inquired skeptically. His father let out an audible sigh and shook his head, giving Ritsu an almost scolding glare.

"It's not just about tomorrow. I won't be around forever; you have to start taking more responsibility in order to succeed me when the time comes. Tomorrow would be no different from what you'd be doing after another decade or so."

Ritsu could almost feel his eyes enlarge the further his father got, his mouth hanging slightly agape from the minor shock the information had stirred inside him. Of course his succession was inevitable but this was the first time his father talked about it with such sternness.

His dumbfound expression had caught his father's attention and the man returned it with a near exhausted frown.

"Oh come now Ritsu, you can't honestly tell me you didn't see this coming. I'm not a young man anymore, but that being said, I don't intend to retire anytime soon. I just want you to start putting more input into this," he explained curtly, briefly glancing at the small clock by his desk. "It's getting late."

That was his cue; end of discussion. He felt like saying a million more things but his brain suddenly felt blank. He stared at his father for a moment before stiffly standing up and making his way out of the room. He somehow made it to his room in his dazed state; his mind still trying to process what his father had said. He sighed out of frustration.

Everything just had to happen tonight, didn't it?

/ / / / / / /


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Hello everyone and let me just apologize straight away for the lack of updates throughout the nearly half a year hiatus I somehow ended up putting this story on hold. I didn't mean to keep you from another update for this long but as usual life messed up my plans for a frequent updating schedule. I've had this chapter nearly completed on my laptop for months but I just haven't had the time/energy to go through it and finish the darn thing. Hopefully by the end of autumn I have more time to devote to this dear hobby of mine. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you all for the patient wait and sticking with me! Fun fact by the way, this story has reached over 6500 hits and has nearly 100 followers. That's just huge and I couldn't be more grateful for you guys! ^^

Once again a thank you for the people who reviewed the last chapter, Jacquelina-Comm, Extended Experience, hardeehar, Molly Grace 16, Mariana Lestrange, rinpup14, komi and Animelover210.

And finally a very special thank you to plume-noire6 whose lovely review was just what I needed to get this chapter finished! Your kind words gave me the motivation to start writing again, and I really hope you stay with this little story of mine until the end ^^

* * *

Chapter 9.

Elena hadn't even been able to fully enter her homeroom when Mariko had already ran up to her side, the girl's eyes frantic as she gapped at her in what Elena recognized as a combination of relief and utter shock. The girl gripped her by the arm and started pulling her into the storage room that had been functioning as a dressing room throughout the night. Mentally, Elena let out an exhausted sigh; Mariko had no doubt heard of what she'd done and gone through, and judging by her behavior she most definitely wanted an explanation, not to mention details – the girl was a sucker for those. The storage room door opened and closed in a mere second and before she knew it, Elena was being borderline suffocated by her friend's crushing hug. She opened her mouth to try and voice out her discomfort but Mariko didn't give her the chance.

"What in the gods name did you think you were doing Elena? Do you have any idea how seriously in trouble you are?" Mariko all but shouted at her, the girl's voice cracking a few times as she squeezed Elena a tad harder. "I was so worried about you when I heard what had happened! We thought those yakuza killed you when no one saw you after you were dragged out of the room!"

Trying to wag her way free from the girl's arms, Elena sighed tiredly.

"No one tried to kill me Mariko, least of all Ritsu," she murmured slowly, focusing on keeping her voice patient despite herself. She didn't miss how Mariko suddenly stiffened after hearing her mutter out her savior's name, and it wasn't long before the girl finally let her hold loosen, allowing Elena to step a few steps backwards and breath. Mariko started at her with wide eyes but said nothing. Elena began to squirm under her heavy stare; suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

"Look, I honestly don't regret anything I did. You should've heard the things those pigs said to me, not to mention how they treated me. They deserved it," she declared bluntly, continuing quickly before Mariko could get a word in. "What I don't understand is how everyone could let them go that far in the first place. I was left to deal with them on my own without any support from the others!" Elena huffed in frustration, feeling her temper start to get the better of her as she recalled the incident once again.

Mariko gave her a tight-lipped frown, clearly not liking what she was hearing. She finally let out a long sigh, her eyes shining with slight remorse. When she spoke, her voice was oddly firm and final; so different from her normal demeanor.

"Like I've already explained, it's just how things are around here, Elena. Very few families allow themselves to associate with yakuza in the first place and to be honest, I don't know whether they're any safer from them then the rest of us are. If you're stupid enough to pick a fight with a yakuza, you can be sure you're on your own."

"Hey! I was only defending myself!"

"That's not my point. It's just how it is."

Elena felt a frown start to form on her face, her brows pinching together from both slight confusion and apprehension. Surely Mariko couldn't mean that…?

"But you would've helped me, right, if you'd been there?" she felt the need to ask even though she had a fairly good assumption what Mariko's answer would be. To be honest, she didn't want her to answer, afraid of what she might hear.

Mariko gave her an almost offended look.

"Look, Elena, we're friends. Under normal circumstances I'd do almost anything to help a friend out. But when it comes to the yakuza, I'm not in a position to do anything. I can't afford to be seen with yakuza; I'll put my family into a horrible disposition in the eyes of others. We'll lose credibility, our clients, our livelihood," she trailed on, her expression turning softer as she gave her an almost apologetic look. "I gather that since you weren't accepted in with a scholarship, your family has at least some money if not even influence. I don't know what you take studying in this school as, but for the rest of us it's preparing us for our futures. We can't afford to recklessly decide upon something that'll hinder us in later life – yakuza associating being one of them. You understand, right?"

Initially Elena wanted to deny her friend's ridiculous reasoning and tell her she was wrong. To her, helping out a person in clear need of help went ahead of everything else, and as a high schooler bullying was pretty much the worst offense anyone could commit. She couldn't even begin to comprehend how Mariko or anyone else would rather ignore the situation than do something to help.

Taking deep breaths, her rising temper slowly began to subside and her mind started to see things from Mariko's point of view. Everything she'd said was true, of course. It was almost funny how easily she forgot that most of the students here at Ouran were going to succeed their parents in various, high profile positions someday. Most of them took their studies seriously unlike Elena who was just trying to pass her classes.

_I can't even imagine how much pressure everyone's under. Even though my situation is drastically different from theirs, I can somewhat understand their reasoning. It's not like I'll take over the family company; heck, I'm not even sure how long I'll even live here. I could just jump on the next plane to England and return to living life normally with Mom…_

Letting out a long sigh, she nodded her head, a broken smile ghosting her face.

"Yeah, I guess I can. But it still doesn't mean that I like it."

Mariko nodded, probably understanding her point of view. She gave her a stern look as Elena made to change out of her costume.

"Just promise me you won't do anything like that again," she paused for a moment, nervously biting her lip before hesitantly continuing, "You're my friend, but you understand that should people start talking, I can't be associated with you anymore…"

Elena immediately stopped trying to unzip her dress as her eyes darted to stare at the normally happy-go-lucky girl, her eyes wide with shock. To say she was dumbfounded was an understatement. The girl could have just as well slapped her.

Elena knew far too well about the strict hierarchy that gripped the school. She knew which people she should try to please and which she should just plainly avoid – clearly she wasn't doing well on that part – but now for the first time she realized how close she herself was about to cross the line for the later. She wondered briefly if anyone in this school understood what friendship truly meant.

Normally, under rational and definitely not posh-rich-kid-school circumstances, Elena wouldn't have hesitated to end her friendship with Mariko herself, if only to spare the girl from further stress because she knew that her temper and morals would eventually cause her to do or say something that would be looked down upon. Normally, she wouldn't let anyone bully or threaten her, but as she thought about loosing her only friend at a time like this, she remarked how very unbeneficial it would've been for her. As much as Elena wanted to tell herself she wasn't a coward, in the end she was more afraid of once again becoming the school loner than standing up for what she believed in.

_This is stupid. She's basically threatening to cut me off if I don't comply. This shouldn't be such a big deal; I really don't need any friends to get through a school day or pass a test. Heck, I've done it before! Ouran is really starting to mess with my head… God, I'm so pathetic…_

She merely nodded in reply, not trusting her voice at that moment. Mariko smiled briefly before turning to the door.

"'Kay. I'll let you change and then, if you're up for it, we could have a look around the school. Or would you rather go home? You've had a rough night…"

"Mm," she murmured, testing her voice as she quickly thought and decided upon the matter, "thanks, but I think I'll head home. I just want the day to be over."

Mariko glanced at her sympathetically, giving her a curt nod before exiting the room, leaving Elena to change. She quickly untied and unzipped most of the knots and zippers, pulling the costume off of her in record time. She was careful not to damage it as she yanked off her fake tail and ears, suddenly realizing she didn't have a clue where her mask had ended up, though in the end not really caring. Dressing somewhat in a hurry, she folded the costume neatly and placed it back into the box she'd received it in, leaving the box behind as she exited the room, figuring Rina would find it there.

It seemed that the night was about over as only a handful of students still remained seated inside their makeshift café. She spotted Mariko wave to her just outside the classroom and within seconds she had made her way to her, wordlessly turning left when she'd exited the room. Mariko followed her and for a while they walked in silence. After turning the first corner, Elena couldn't help but feel a little selfish, suddenly feeling rather guilty for declining on her friend's suggestion to explore the school.

"I'm sorry tonight didn't go as expected," she began with a sigh, "it would've been nice to look around the school and visit the other classes' events but I'm afraid I'm not very good company at the moment."

"Don't worry about it, I understand," Mariko replied almost chirpily beside her, a smile forming on her face. She was back to her usual carefree, happy self; something that Elena was actually glad for. It was as if the incident with the yakuza hadn't happened at all.

Despite this Elena felt herself frown, casting the girl beside her a skeptical look.

"You didn't have to wait for me, you know. I wouldn't have minded if you'd went with your other friends to look around the school."

"Oh, Elena, stop talking nonsense," Mariko giggled merrily, a smirk plastered on her face as they continued onwards. "To be honest I was getting ready to head home anyway. We had so many people visit the café; it was almost ridiculous! I'm so tired; I'd kill for a warm bath right about now…"

A smile threatened to pull Elena's lips as she listened to her friend's half-hearted whining; the girl's antics surprisingly amusing despite everything. They soon arrived to the courtyard, what seemed to be Mariko's car already waiting for her. The air was slightly crisp and Elena couldn't suppress the shiver running down her back as she thought about walking back home, now regretting having refused the lift home her driver had offered.

_If just had to be stubborn about walking home on a night like this, didn't I?_

"Didn't you phone your driver yet?" Mariko asked despite the faint hint of knowledge in her eyes. Elena glanced at her, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"No, I originally thought I'd walk home but I'm starting to regret that choice," she admitted groggily, her eyes landing on Mariko's ride for a brief moment before she turned them away, not wanting to seem pathetic by begging with her eyes. Besides, she had her phone; she should just call her driver and he'd come pick her up in mere minutes.

"Don't worry, you can ride with me," Mariko chirped, already climbing into the car and giving her an expecting stare. "Come on, it won't be any trouble. You can't honestly tell me you'd rather walk home when it's this cold?"

Elena considered the thought for a second, her resolve aided by a brisk gush of cool air. In no time at all she was inside the large car; the door shutting shortly after she'd entered. Mariko smiled widely to her as she turned to her driver to explain they'd be taking her home.

"Where do you live Elena? Not far from the school, I'd gather?" she inquired once the driver started the engine.

"Well, I don't actually know the address," she confessed regretfully; mentally kicking herself for still not having verifying it with anyone. It was embarrassing that she didn't know her address after months of staying with her father. Trying to redeem herself, she focused on answering her friend's simply question at least somewhat decently. "It's not far though; if we turn left you could leave me by the main road a couple of blocks off. It's only a short way from there and I don't mind walking the rest of the way," she suggested, knowing her house wasn't even in the same general direction as Mariko's to begin with; not wanting to bother her longer than necessary.

Mariko didn't seem to like her answer; scrunching her brows together as she gave Elena a disapproving stare.

"There's no way I'm letting you walk home tonight! We'll drive you the entire way," she stated in a firm voice, giving her a warning glare as if to dare her to decline. Elena merely sighed, knowing she stood little chance when her friend got into this state of mind.

Mariko seemed to sense her surrender and turned to her driver, giving him some general directions for the first leg of the way. The car slid into motion and soon they were already on the main road, Mariko encouraging Elena to give the driver the rest of the directions to her house. In no time at all they had turned from the main road and were now maneuvering through the smaller roads leading to Elena's house. Elena noted how strangely interested Mariko seemed to be by the neighborhood she lived in and she voiced out her observation.

"It's just so different from the ones I'm used to. Most of us live in far larger houses than these ones," she replied curtly, giving her a careful glance. "I don't mean to sound rude but it seems to me that your family doesn't seem to be as… wealthy, as others in our school."

Elena had been expecting something according to that line, honestly neither surprised nor offended in the least. She flicked her hand dismissively, trying to signal she was fine with the matter.

"You're probably right. To be honest I don't have the faintest idea about my father's financial matters and wouldn't mind keeping it that way. I don't think it's something I have to worry or know about," she stated neutrally, glancing outside the tinted windows as a half smile settled on her face. "As hard as it may to believe, living in this neighborhood isn't that bad; actually, far from it. Compared to the places I used to live in with my mother, this is quite nice."

Mariko stared at her silently for a second before turning back to the window, a focused expression plastered on her face as if trying to see what Elena saw in the neighborhood. Elena could tell she had more things on her mind but for once seemed to realize she shouldn't press the matter on.

Noticing that they were closing in on the last corner before her house, Elena shifted slightly in her seat, effectively catching the driver's attention with the movement.

"Take the next turn right; my house is just a hundred or so feet from there," she instructed, the driver doing as commanded and before long they reached her house. "This is it," she stated and waited for the car to slow to a stop. "Thank you for the lift," she said as she opened the door herself before the driver could even get out of the car, smiling slightly to Mariko. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

She closed the door after they'd said their 'goodnights' and briskly walked up to the wooden doors, knocking on them twice.

"Who's there?" a man with a deep voice inquired, his words sounding quite intimidating in the ever darkening night.

"It's me, Elena," she answered firmly, her feet twitching restlessly as she waited for the doors to open. She quietly cursed the person who'd decided to close the heavy, large doors this early into the evening; knowing her father would probably come turn around the house at least two more times that night before the gates were shut for the remaining night. The ten or so seconds she had to wait for the doors to open just postponed her from a warm shower and sleep.

One of her father's more brawnier men pulled the massive doors open and greeted her politely as she entered the large courtyard before once again pulling the doors shut. Elena gave her own quiet response as she made her way towards the house, nodding her greetings to the rest of the men still outside. To her slight displeasure she found Kemuri once again waiting for her as she entered the house, the older male giving her his usual stoic expression as they stared at each other momentarily before Elena let out a tired sigh, pulling her shoes off with more effort than the simple task should have needed. She could see Kemuri shift his head slightly from the corner of her eye as she fought to get her remaining shoe off, mentally preparing herself for the inevitable questioning she knew was sure to follow.

_Why couldn't he just mind his own business for one goddamn day? It's bad enough already that a yakuza manhandled me today and I'm getting sick and tired of everyone pestering me with questions! Is wanting to fall asleep and forget about tonight too much to ask?_

Unable to avoid the young man any longer, she finally had to raise her eyes from her feet, her thoughts before written quite plainly on her face. Kemuri wasn't having any of it, though.

"If I may inquire, young mistress," he paused briefly as Elena fought to get a word in.

"Actual-"

"Why didn't you call for a car tonight? Your clothing wasn't suited at all for tonight's weather. The Master won't be pleased when he hears you walked back home alone this late at night," he spoke faster than Elena could get a word in, his tone past polite as he made pointed remarks about her attire. Crossing his arms, he frowned at her; his eyes tinted with an almost resentful hue. "How could you act so irresponsibly without thinking of the consequences?"

It took a moment for Elena to respond; her brain trying to arrange her thoughts in order.

_He did __not__ just reprimand me for something I didn't do, did he?_

Suddenly feeling very annoyed, she gave the man a hard glare, her chest already heaving from her rising temper. "Hey, now wait just a darn minute!" Elena all but yelled, her voice rising by several octaves as she stared incredulously at the man in front of her. "You have no right to talk to me like that! I've had a horrible night and the only thing I need right now is a hot shower and my bed," she stated firmly and pushed past him, trying to get to her room as fast as possible. She could feel fresh tears start to sting her eyes but she ignored them for now, knowing Kemuri would undoubtedly be close behind her.

Despite having been falsely accused of something, Elena soon found the fight being drained away from her the further she got. Finally after having been stripped of her anger, she was left to recall her and Kemuri's earlier interactions, suddenly remembering the look in his eyes as he'd scolded her. She let out a soundless sigh.

_It wasn't right of me to act like that and yell at Kemuri. After all, it's not him that I'm actually angry at. I should've kept my cool and explained._

She glanced back to confirm that the man was still there before opening her mouth, intending on apologizing.

"I'm sorry," she began slowly, noting the slightly confused look on Kemuri's face before focusing her eyes back in front of her. "You were just doing your job; you didn't deserve to get yelled at."

_Well, at least this time…_

"The reason I didn't call for a car was because I intended to walk home; the school's hardly miles away. I just didn't predict the weather getting so cold. I intended to call someone just as my friend offered me a lift," she explained, keeping her voice slow and steady. "I'm still not used to relying on others and I don't want to be a bother to anyone; I know you guys have enough work as it is without having to babysit me. I'm hardly a little kid anymore, I can take care of myself…"

She heard Kemuri let out a long sigh.

"Well this is a first; the mistress of the house apologizing for nothing to a mere lackey," he stated out loud, his words instantly causing Elena to turn and face him.

"Hey! I was just trying to be nice," she replied pointedly, silently murmuring curses at the young man who was now giving her a deadpan expression.

"A person in your position doesn't apologize for her actions, young mistress."

"I'm not in any position and even if I were I still wouldn't be rude."

"You're the mistress of this house, our Master's daughter. You don't have to explain yourself to us, young mistress."

"Will you stop calling me that already?! My name's Elena!"

"As you wish Elena-sama," Kemuri replied, and Elena could just hear the smirk in his voice. Deciding to ignore him for the rest of the way, they walked in blissful silence.

They'd nearly reached her room when Kemuri decided to break the silence with one final question.

"So you got a ride…from a friend, you said?" Kemuri confirmed, sounding as though not knowing whether to believe her words or not. She merely hummed as an answer, not bothering to glance back at him to see whether he'd actually heard her or not. "I see," he replied, sounding deep in thought. "So even you've managed to befriend someone."

Elena almost felt compelled to stop in her tracks and have the man following her crash into her, if only to get a chance to reprimand him about something. He was purposely trying to get under her skin and irritate her; the nerve of him!

_And here I'd thought that he'd leave me alone for the rest of the night…_

She turned to glare at him, trying to pour as much ice into her eyes as possible. Judging by the unwavering stoic expression he wore, she was failing miserably in getting her message through.

"You sound as though that's hard to believe. You're not implying that you thought that I wouldn't make any friends, are you?" she asked him pointedly, daring him to confirm her suspicions.

The young man didn't say anything, the corners of his lips tugging ever so slightly. Elena decided not to let him get to her, continuing her way while simultaneously pulverizing him into a messy pulp mentally inside her head. She promptly ignored him for the rest of the way.

/ / / / / / /

Morning came far too soon for Elena and before she knew it, it was already nearly time for her first ever ball, courtesy of Ouran High School. She was starting to get the feeling it would simultaneously be the last ball she ever attended as well.

Throughout the day she'd cursed everyone she felt could be held accounted for arranging the stupid event in the first place, not to mention private schools in general for allowing students to spend a perfectly good school day socializing by prancing around in their grand, expensive costumes and gloating about their families, trying to outdo one another. Upon considering the thought, it still sounded like a perfectly ordinary school day at Ouran anyway, minus the costumes if you didn't include the Host Club's frequent cosplaying. Still, she'd much more preferred to study rather than play dress up for an evening.

She hadn't told anyone back at the house about her near death-experience last night, having decided it would be for the best. Her father would have no doubt gotten himself and his company in trouble had she told him, knowing he'd want the perpetrators held responsible for their actions against his daughter. Elena felt herself shudder just at the thought of how the yakuza might respond and quickly banished those thoughts altogether, promptly deciding things would never come to that.

Miraculously she'd survived her ordeal without any easy-to-spot physical evidence; her face and arms free from bruising. The only minor injuries she'd received was from the wire when she'd been pulled from her tail, the wire having bit into the skin above her hips and now sporting a ring of closed up wounds. It wasn't pretty but at least she could hide it under her clothes compared to say a large bruise shaped like a hand on her face. Anyway, she was confident that the cuts would heal without scaring or the need for a doctor, so therefor there really wasn't much harm done.

_That disgusting jerk better not put his hands on me again though or else I'll end up doing something I'll regret…_

Letting out a long sigh, she focused her eyes to stare at her image from the full-length mirror in her room mirthlessly. Sure enough, the black dress she'd bought with Mariko was just as beautiful as she remembered, the fabric flowing off her body more elegantly than she even thought was possible. She'd curled her long brown locks and haphazardly tied a handful into a braid-like creation on the upper area of the back of her head, having remembered her mother sporting the same look to multiple events she'd participated. Black stilettos adorned her feet, the heals being just a few inches high; hopefully causing as little hindrance to her walking as possible, as well as keeping her on her feet. The last thing she needed at a time like this was even more attention by stumbling and landing on her behind in front of the entire school.

Turning her body from side to side, her tried to get a glimpse of as many different angles as possibly before concluding that everything was as close to perfection as could be. Frowning, she turned to her bed to pick up a pair of long, black satin gloves and proceeded in putting them on, taking her time in doing so.

She was almost finished, having already put on her makeup and what little jewelry she owned beforehand. Dragging her eyes to the veil that was thrown inelegantly over her mirror she grabbed ahold of it and after taking a calming breath, reluctantly put it on. That one piece of fabric made all the difference for the look; changing her outfit from a gothic evening dress to a full on wedding dress.

_I could still call in sick and stay home if I wanted to. _She thought idly, staring at her reflection somewhat discouraged before starting to feel annoyed. Mentally kicking herself, she glared at herself in the mirror.

"Look at me; freaking over a simple Halloween costume party. The old me would've manned up a long time ago," she mumbled barely audible, her lips tugging into a sad smile. "The old me wouldn't last a second in an event like this, not to mention I'd probably get myself killed should any of the yakuza be there."

Giving herself one last look, she started making her way to her door, huffing lightly as she thought about how she'd changed during the weeks she'd lived with her father. It was a little frightening how easily she'd given in to peer pressure and for that she felt slightly ashamed. The situation at Ouran however was vastly different from any other school she'd ever attended before. In the end she blamed it on the money.

Deep in thought, she didn't notice Kohaku before she almost ran into him as she began to make her way out of the house. Taken aback, she was dragged back into the moment as she raised her gaze to meet the amber orbs of the young male's.

"Oh, sorry Kohaku," she apologized sheepishly, feeling a little awkward under his gaze as he'd yet to say or do anything. "What? Is there something wrong with my outfit? Did I forget something? It doesn't suit me; that's it isn't it? God, why am I even going to that stupid ball in the first place? I should just stay home…" she started to babble as she fiddled with her dress, second-guessing her decision to attend the ball after all.

"Uuhh… I-iii… Eh…" was all the boy could say as his face reddened incredibly fast. Turning around, he meekly gestured her to follow as he took off for the front door.

Confused, she had no choice but to follow him, wondering what had gotten into him. They walked in heavy silence until they finally made it to the main entrance, much to Elena's relief. She didn't know how much more tension she could take.

Exiting the house, she was surprised to see nearly all of her father's men lined up outside, waiting to send her off as they did every school day. Elena could feel every single pair of eyes on her and she just barely repressed the urge to squirm under their gazes. She let out a weak sigh as she made her way through the path as the men yelled out their usual greetings. Just before she'd reached the heavy wooden doors of the gate, Tarou shouted out one last sentence that caught her by surprise.

"Young Mistress, you look spectacular this evening! Do enjoy yourself!"

As the rest of the men dutifully repeated the sentence, Elena glanced back at them apprehensively before huffing, her lips forming into a smile. Who would've guessed that a bunch of intimidating looking men could've given her the boost of confidence that she so desperately needed.

/ / / / / / /

"Isn't this just the most wonderful ball you've been to in a while?" Mariko chanted happily as she effortlessly grabbed two glasses full of pumpkin juice from the tray of a passing waiter before giving the other to Elena as they made their way to a less crowded place.

The school's largest hall had been turned into something that looked like straight out of a strange and kooky fairytale, reminding her of Alice in Wonderland. The color scheme was a lot brighter and crazier than traditionally associated with Halloween but combined with all the outrageous props – for example, a life-sized two headed deer – the all around atmosphere was nothing short of spooky.

When she'd first heard that the Black Magic Club wouldn't be decorating the school for tonight's event she'd felt a little let down, having been impressed with their work the day before. Imagine her surprise when Mariko had told her that tonight's spectacular decorating was done by none other than the Host Club. She was starting to view the infamous club in a new light after that particular piece of information.

The middle of the hall had been reserved for dancing and because it was still fairly early into the evening, most of the students preferred to mingle with the others until the party really got going, i.e. the members of the Host Club would finally have to start to ask the female students to dance in order to draw people to the dance floor. Even though Elena herself wouldn't be dancing – walking alone in high heels was difficult enough – she had to admit that it was a rather ingenious strategy from the Host Club fan girls. Fortunately for once Mariko wasn't that interested in seeking out any of the members, having been given instructions from her parents to mingle with the children of their business partners, whom apparently, Mariko didn't really care for.

"I mean, don't get me wrong; they're…nice people," Mariko began lengthily, stopping for a few seconds to give a discreet wave to a group of boys on the other side of the large hall before continuing, "but they're not really that interesting. Sure their families have successful IT-firms and whatnot, but I'd honestly much more prefer to study history than try to keep up a conversation with any of those boys."

Elena let her slight surprise show on her face as she took a sip of her juice.

"Wow, history. That's saying something, especially coming from you," she replied with a smirk before letting her face somber as she turned to glance at a fairly abstract looking tree not far away, the bark of the tree striped dark purple and smoky fuchsia. "So, what do we do now?" she inquired as she turned her gaze back to her friend. "I haven't been to a ball before…"

Mariko seemed to have difficulties keeping her drink down, fighting hard not to spit it out as she stared at Elena in what could only be interpreted as shock. Elena mentally rolled her eyes at her friend's antics; trust her to react completely over-the-top to nearly everything Elena said.

"What? How's that even possible? Didn't you have any sort of dances in England?" Mariko questioned after finally managing to swallow her drink.

Elena shrugged her shoulders, keeping her eyes on her drink as she took another sip.

"Yeah sometimes. But we used to move quite frequently so I usually missed the school dances. Besides I didn't really want to attend them anyway."

"I'm sorry to hear that; every girl should get the chance to experience their first ball. Luckily you'll have yours at the best one possible!" Mariko chirped by her side and grabbed ahold of her arm, wrapping it around her own as she began to guide her around the giant hall.

Somehow Elena had a bad feeling about this.

"First thing's first; I'll have to swap at least a few words with those boys of my family's business partners. After that we'll have the rest of the evening to turn this into an unforgettable night," she quickly explained the course of action as they closed in on the group of boys Mariko had waved to before.

Elena gave her friend an apprehensive glance, suddenly feeling nervous. As if reading her mind, Mariko gave her an encouraging smile.

"Don't worry, this shouldn't take long. Believe it or not but those guys can barely utter a word out when they're near girls, especially ones they've never met before. I'm guessing I'll be the one doing most of the talking…"

Stopping a couple of feet away from the group of teen boys, Elena forced herself to smile as Mariko greeted them, effectively catching their full attention. They hadn't exactly dressed up for the occasion, all of them wearing expensive suits as though prepared to leave for a meeting instead of attending a Halloween party. Elena wasn't usually one to prejudice but from her point of view it seemed like the four boys in front of her were just another group of socially awkward teens that had trouble talking to the opposite gender. The thought made her calm down a bit; knowing she wasn't the only one stressing over this particular conversation.

"Good evening gentlemen; how are all of you doing?" Mariko inquired out of them before taking a sip from her drink.

The young men mumbled their replies stiffly, after which their eyes hesitantly focused on Elena, much to her discomfort. Even so, she kept on smiling.

"This is my friend Elena Kawamura. She moved here from England not too long ago," Mariko introduced her, gesturing to each of the young men. "These are Jin, Iza, Hotaru and Kenta."

Mariko included in their family names as she briefly explained which companies the young men were heirs to but Elena had the feeling she probably wouldn't remember them anyway.

"It's nice to meet you," Elena replied as the group of boys mumbled something incomprehensible in return.

_Boy, Mariko sure wasn't kidding when she said they aren't very talkative._

After ten minutes of fairly one directional conversation Mariko decided her interactions with the boys would be enough to satisfy her family's conditions and promptly wished the group of young men a good rest of the evening before urging Elena to follow her, all but dragging her deep into the crowd. Having made their escape, Mariko visibly relaxed as she maneuvered them through the masses of students, her eyes set on one of the long tables filled with food.

"Good god, that was tiring! At least it's out of the schedule for the night," she sighed, giving Elena an apologizing smile. "I'm sorry you had to endure that. It must be great not having your parents push you into socializing with their business partners' children."

"Don't worry about it," Elena replied hastily, trying to ease her friend's mind on the matter. "I could think of far more unpleasant things to do in comparison to meeting a few new people."

Mariko grinned, picking up a cup of mixed fruit salad from the table. She waited patiently for Elena to pick something to eat before leading them away, both of them settling into a slow paced walk as they took in the marvelous costumes their fellow students were wearing, talking idly as they walked about the grand hall.

True to her word, Mariko had indeed worn the Middle Eastern outfit she'd received from her father, giving her a 'Thousand Nights' vibe with her gold-laced fabric and generous amount of jewelry. It wasn't long before Elena began to feel slightly inferior to the rest of the students as she compared her costume to theirs, though she quickly dismissed the thought, knowing that it was indeed true to begin with. Unlike the others, she hadn't dressed up to impress or maintain her image. She'd just dressed up for the fun of it.

_Though I really didn't have any say what I'd be wearing, now that I think about it…_

"So," she began abruptly in the middle of biting into a slice of exotic fruit, "what else do people usually do at these kinds of events besides meet and greet acquaintances? I know Ouran's balls must differ from the rest at least somewhat," she wondered out loud, turning her eyes to Mariko.

"You'd be right on that one," Mariko chirped; her eyes visibly starting to shine as she began to list everything she deemed worth telling. "It goes without saying that attending these sort of events is a must; not only are they fun but they are also designed to prepare us for the future should we have to participate in other events – which we will. I don't know whether anyone's mentioned this to you before but these events are part of our etiquette course. There are multiple evaluators within tonight's partygoers and their job is to observe how we socialize and interact with others during the evening, after which they report back to our etiquette-teacher." Here she halted for a moment, taking in Elena's baffled expression.

"What? Evaluators? At a teenage Halloween party?" she practically shrieked before toning it down, eying Mariko skeptically. "You aren't joking, are you?"

Mariko suppressed a giggle, taking another bite from her fruit salad. "Calm down Elena, it's not like they take highly detailed reports of all of us. They usually only report back to the teacher should someone do something totally incorrect. Don't worry, you're safe with me!" she explained shortly, giving Elena a bright smile.

"You better stop me before I do anything stupid; I haven't got the faintest idea how to behave in these kinds of parties. I thought my biggest worry would've been the other students and now I have to deal with the knowledge that someone is watching my every move," she voiced out her concern, after which sighing feeling even more deflated than before.

The sudden change in the music being played by the small orchestra had the students quiet down a bit as they shifted to turn towards the dance floor. The hall seemed to grow tense with foreknowing; everyone waiting restlessly for someone to begin the night's first dance. Some had already chosen themselves dancing partners while others – mainly first year female students – were frantically swinging their heads from side to side, no doubt trying to pinpoint anyone from the Host Club. Elena felt herself cringe as she even thought about dancing and very discreetly tried to back away from the vicinity of the still empty dance floor, trying to put some distance between it and her. She didn't care whether they would call her a wallflower; there was absolutely no way she would be doing anything remotely similar to dancing tonight.

Mariko had seemed to notice her hasty attempt of retreat and turned to give her a playful look.

"You know, should you be asked to dance you can't turn them away unless you want a privet scolding from the teacher," she said with a grin, a knowing gleam shining in her eyes as Elena turned to look at her with horrified eyes.

"You can't be serious!" she all but shouted before thinking about the matter, her nerves calming down somewhat as she realized she probably wouldn't even get asked to dance anyway. Under normal circumstances she would've been crushed after said realization but now she couldn't have been happier. Heck, she was even mentally dancing the Macarena!

_Thank God I'm not one of those popular girls!_

A light cough snapped her back to reality, her heart nearly stopping as her eyes settled on a hand being offered to her; the way it was presented to her leaving no room for incorrect assumptions on what it meant.

Elena stared in morbid shock at the long-fingered hand covered by a black glove as she began to feel a little light-headed, noticing she'd been holding her breath. Taking in a lungful of air, she tentatively raised her gaze to take a look at the person who'd asked her to dance, silently fearing it would be the yakuza from the day before. What she saw surprised her for a moment before she noticed the other man beside him, mirroring his actions to Mariko.

It was Jin and Hotaru, the young men Mariko had introduced her to before when she'd socialized with them earlier. Apparently they felt the need to prolong their interactions, much to Mariko's obvious reluctance. Even so, she dutifully placed her hand in her parent's business partner's son's and gave him a small smile before giving Elena an expecting look.

Trying to repress her growing panic, Elena turned back to face the young man and forced herself to mimic Mariko's actions, mentally kicking herself to boost her confidence. She'd be damned before she was caught chickening out of something so meager as a school dance!

And so, she soon found herself being led to the middle of the grand hall, focusing hard where she placed her feet to avoid slipping and landing face first on the floor. If only she'd be able to control them while dancing as well.

To her credit, she had been in ballet when she was little and as so had some background in dancing. She'd just never danced in high heels before. Or anything so classical for the record as the music changed into a traditional waltz. Her partner – Hotaru, if she remembered right – placed his other hand on her waist and took ahold of her hand with the other, readying them for the dance. She cautiously placed her other hand on his shoulder and before she could even blink, they were already moving with Hotaru leading. Having been caught off guard, Elena struggled to find the correct tempo to the dance, her feet wobbling ominously with every step she took. Realizing she'd soon stumble if she didn't do anything, she had no choice but to slightly lean into the young man dancing with her, hoping to gain some much needed support from him. She could instantly feel him tense from the unexpected contact and turned to glance at him apologetically.

"Um, I'm terribly sorry but I'm not much of a dancer, especially in heels like these. I'm almost sure I'll trip and fall if I don't have any support while dancing; I hope it's alright…" she explained mutedly, trying to keep her voice down. "I understand if you find it inappropriate and I wouldn't be offended should you want to stop dancing."

"No, it's alright," her partner mumbled barely understandably even though they were quite close, and as Elena gave him a slightly confused and surprised look, he straightened up a tad to support them both. "You were nice enough to not turn me away from the start so the least I can do is treat you like a proper gentleman should."

Elena stared at him feeling stunned yet somehow managed not to get tangled in her feet. To say she was surprised by his answer was an understatement. She had been sure he would've more likely just dumped her rather than risk embarrassing himself by having her hobble by his side like Bambi on ice. She gained a new sense of respect towards the awkward teen and quickly decided she'd see this through with as much dignity as she could.

The music kept playing as more and more students joined the dance, slowly spinning around the hall counterclockwise. At first she focused solely on her feet but after awhile she was able to glance around as well, her eyes trying to pinpoint Mariko somewhere within the masses of swirling students. After a few tries, she finally managed to spot her not far away dancing marvelously with her partner although Elena could tell she wasn't exactly hyped up about it. Suddenly feeling a tad guilty ignoring her partner, she turned back to him and decided the least she could do was talk to him.

"So," she began, waiting to get his attention before continuing, "would you mind telling me something about yourself?" she suggested, deciding it would probably be a better subject than the age-old topic about weather. "I haven't seen you before so I assume you're not a first year? I haven't been here for all that long though, so I could be mistaken."

The young man seemed surprised by her questions and hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.

"Very well, if you insist. I'm Hotaru Muragami and indeed a second year student. My family owns a large technology company and does business with Miss Akimura's family among many others."

Elena nodded, signaling she was listening. "I see, have you known Mariko for long?"

"I wouldn't say so; to be honest I hardly know her at all. Jin is the one who's best acquainted with her. My family just started doing business with hers."

"Oh," she murmured with a lack of anything better to say. She got the feeling that the conversation was at a standstill but she didn't want to push the young man with unnecessary questions.

_He'll probably think I'm nosy. I don't even know if we should be talking while dancing…_

She was slightly surprised when Hotaru redirected her questions back to her.

"So, would you mind telling me something about you now that I've done so?" he asked tentatively, almost seeming as though he couldn't believe he was even asking.

For a moment she merely looked at him trying to confirm if he really wanted to know but when his demeanor stayed the same, she mentally shrugged as she thought about what to answer.

"Not at all. My name is Elena Kawamura, as you may remember Mariko telling you before, and I'm in class 1-C. I only recently began studying at Ouran after I moved here from England."

Hotaru nodded once. "Yes, I've heard about you before. It's not often we get new students in the middle of the year. Would you mind telling why you moved? Was it because of your parents' work?" he guessed.

"Not exactly. You see, my parents are divorced and have been for eight years now. I used to live with my mother but after she remarried my stepfather decided I should start attending a boarding school in Switzerland. I refused to go because at the time the thought of being molded into a 'proper lady' didn't seem like me," here she halted for a moment, a neutral grin pulling her lips. "Anyway, I ended up moving to Japan to stay with my father and wouldn't you know he enrolled me into this school; the irony."

"Well, at least you're not stranded alone in a foreign country," Hotaru pointed out as they completed yet another round around the hall. "Would you mind me inquiring what your father does for a living? The name Kawamura doesn't seem familiar in the business world… Or are you perhaps a scholarship student like Fujioka from class 1-A?" he wondered out loud, though Elena could tell he didn't believe it was the latter.

"No, with grades like mine I'm hardly a scholarship student. Besides, I'm in class C so it's more than likely that the teachers agree with me, though I did study really hard in order to catch up with the rest. I can only hope the midterms went well enough to be able to stay in my class," she admitted before focusing on the other question on hand. "Actually, Kawamura is my mother's maiden name so I understand if it doesn't sound familiar. My father's last name is Yuugure and he's in the medicine and protection field. Have you heard about him?" she explained as she'd once been told by her father just as the music stopped.

"Yuugure…" Hotaru murmured to himself before his eyes widened a bit, evidently having recalled the name. "I um… No. No, I haven't," he mumbled hastily before letting her go and backing away, bowing curtly. "I'm terribly sorry but I have to leave now. It was nice meeting you."

With that he was off, leaving Elena to stare after him in confusion.

_Well that was weird._

The music started again, this time the orchestra playing a slightly slower waltz and upon noticing the other students begin to dance once again, Elena quickly fled the dance floor feeling revealed it was finally over. She had to admit though that dancing with Hotaru hadn't been as bad as she'd thought. Scurrying back to her previous standing place she just barely managed to see Mariko within the slowly moving dancers, having changed partners since the last time she'd seen her.

_Now what do I do?_

Feeling as though she stood out like a sore thumb standing by the dancing floor all alone, she decided to go get something to drink and began heading towards the 'buffet tables' – or whatever they were called at Ouran. Moving towards the drinks, she was just about to reach her hand towards a glass of pumpkin juice when it disappeared from her grasp. She quickly looked up to see who had taken her drink and felt her blood freeze as she realized it was her harasser from the night before.

The yakuza honored his heritage having dressed up in a simple yet expensive black suit and white dress shirt, having left the top buttons unbuttoned. His hair had been sleeked back and his stance was fairly aggressive, leaving others no mistaking just what he was.

Elena found it hard to breath around him as she stared at him with open terror, a thousand thoughts running across her mind of what the young yakuza might do to her after yesterday's incident. The yakuza – Hiro Ogakuze – seemed to sense her eyes on him as he moved to turn his irritated eyes on to her. Elena felt herself react before she could even consider it, turning her face to the side hoping the yakuza hadn't had time to recognize her. Holding her breath, she ever so slightly started to turn away from the man entirely as she planned her escape. She should probably head back to where she'd stood earlier and hope Mariko was there.

"Hey, wait up," Hiro suddenly demanded much to Elena's horror as he placed a firm hand on her shoulder, effectively stopping her from running away. "Aren't you that wench that humiliated me last night?" he inquired bemusedly, obviously sure of his assumptions.

Elena let out a shaky breath of air. What on earth was she supposed to do now? The yakuza was probably out for blood and she was on her own against him.

A sudden thought hit her then, realization starting to sink in.

_We're in school in front of hundreds of students and probably some teachers as well. He couldn't risk leaving behind so many witnesses if he decided to do anything to me; not out in the open anyway. I'm sure the school wouldn't look past public acts of violence and would have to report it to the police, even if the yakuza were involved._

Clinging to what little newfound courage she could draw from the thought, she straightened her posture and forced a smile on her face as she turned to glance at the man from over her shoulder.

"Why if it isn't Mr. Gentleman himself. What is it with you and grabbing a lady; can't get them to talk to you otherwise?" she replied in a sickly sweet tone, boldly challenging him with a snarky smirk. "You know a simple 'hello' and a compliment usually get the conversation going. Acting all pushy is hardly a quality women enjoy," she concluded with a pointed look at his hand that was still grabbing her by the shoulder.

Hiro seemed stunned for a moment and actually let her go, though whether acting intentionally or not, Elena couldn't tell. She was nonetheless happy to get his hand off her person.

The young yakuza sobered from his momentarily stunned state, swiftly changing his stance into an even more aggressive one and Elena immediately felt a foot shorter as his form towered over hers. She refused to let him see her doubt and boldly turned her body to face his, trying to force herself to relax as she stared at the yakuza patiently, waiting for him to say something.

_All I have to do is stay calm and try to maintain my dignity; this way if he causes a scene he'll end up embarrassing only himself without dragging me with him. I'm almost certain that we've already caught someone's attention and evaluator or not, I'll try my hardest to act accordingly. Hopefully he'll just give up and leave when he sees he isn't going to get the reaction he wants out of me. That usually works with bullies…_

With her plan in mind, she held herself with as much grace as she could muster, her face set in an uncharacteristically serene expression. Her laissez-faire attitude seemed to irritate the young man, and with that in mind she let her lips tug just a tad, the small twitch finally causing the yakuza to loose his last shreds of cool.

"Are you making fun of me?" he half asked, half shouted as he glared down at her. "Do you wanna die?"

Elena shivered mentally; this guy was seriously scary. Maybe she just should've made a run for it…

_Just stay cool. Sooner or later he'll get tired of this and go away._

As much as she hated letting the yakuza do and say as he pleased with her, she forced herself to keep calm even though mentally she was punching him into a pulp. It wasn't like her to give into bullying – this being a clear case of it – but the situation didn't allow her to fight back, at least not physically.

"Whatever made you think I was making fun of you? I was just trying to help you on your skills with women; you're obviously lacking somewhat in that area," she replied sweetly, mentally patting herself on the back that she managed to do so with a straight face when all she wanted to do was to tell him to go the hell away. Half turning, she gave him a small smile akin to an apologetic one. "Now if you excuse me, I have to be going. Do practice your lady-skills with someone else."

This was her chance. Turning fully around, she started walking towards the same spot she'd just came from, hoping that Mariko would be there. It took everything in her not to make a mad dash away from the yakuza but she somehow managed to keep her compositor.

That is until she felt someone grab her by her hand and pulling her to a stop. Turning around in utter terror, she stared at the young yakuza in shock; her expression probably nothing short of the classical 'deer in the headlights' look.

While her expression was shocked, Hiro's was a mixture of anger and irritation. He seemed to think about his words carefully though his grip on her hand didn't waver.

"You think I'm lacking on my skills with ladies? Damnit, I'm the next heir of my family's syndicate; I have more important things to worry about than acting like a gentleman," he huffed sounding somewhat defensive on the matter – not that Elena was about to comment about it. When she didn't react to his words, he growled and turned, pulling hard on her hand. "Come on," were his only words as he all but dragged her forward through the crowd that gave them enough room to pass.

Elena was terrified beyond her mind as she stumbled helplessly in tow of the yakuza; firmly believing she'd pissed him off passed his point of tolerance. If she got out of this alive, it would be a miracle. Survival instincts kicking in, the tried to pull away but with little success as the yakuza was much too strong.

"W-what are you doing?" she managed to hiss at him, figuring that acting 'accordingly' wasn't getting her anywhere but into a casket.

Hiro kept dragging her along until stopping abruptly, turning to face her with a serious and annoyed expression.

"I'll show you who can or can't treat women," he huffed as he took a hold of her, placing his other hand on her waist and keeping the other closed around her hand.

Realization slowly kicking in, Elena soon found herself in the middle of a waltz with the young yakuza. Still too stunned to say anything, Elena concentrated on trying to move her feet accordingly while her mind buffeted question after question to her confused brain.

_What the hell? How in the world did I end up dancing with this guy? Does he have some kind of alternate motive? He can actually dance? Is this his way of punishment? What'll he do after the song is over? Oh lord, how do I always end up in situations like this? Why can't I just keep my mouth shut?_

After a few moments of heavy silence between the two of them, Elena finally managed to grip onto enough courage to look at the yakuza in the eye. He didn't exactly look too happy about the situation either, which made her wonder why he'd wanted to dance with her in the first place. Remembering his words just before they'd started dancing, it hit her. He was trying to prove her wrong, to make her eat her words about his 'skills' with women. And he thought that the best way was showing her he could dance a simple waltz – albeit quite stiffly.

_Wow, who'd thought this guy would be acting so childishly? He's probably used to getting everything he wants; spoiled brat. Serves him right to try to gain my appreciation of his 'formidable' skills with women…_

"You know showing off your dancing skills doesn't change the fact that you're a jerk when it comes to women," she stated bluntly, earning a glare from the young yakuza.

"Shut up! I thought that girls liked this kind of stuff; I was just being considerate for your sake so that you'd at least get to dance once tonight. A girl like you wouldn't be all that popular to begin with," he replied cockily, roughly leading them counterclockwise along the dance floor.

"And yet you couldn't keep your hands to themselves yesterday," Elena bluntly reminded him as she struggled to keep up with him, mentally shivering as she once again was forced to remember the incident.

"Well if I'd known what was behind that mask of yours-" Hiro began but Elena didn't let him finish, cutting him off in mid sentence.

"Anyway, your chivalry isn't earning you any points; I'm not that keen on dancing to begin with so you shouldn't have bothered. Besides, someone else already beat you to the bush by dancing with me."

"Jeez what is it with you? Ungrateful girl… You've definitely not learned much about being a proper lady."

"Likewise," she replied icily before mentally sighing in relief as the song came to a finish and the dancers exchanged bows and curtsies. "Now if all you wanted to do was to prove that you can dance then I think we're finished here. Thanks for the dance, even though I disliked every moment of it," she grumbled under her breath as she curtsied quickly before turning and promptly walking away from him.

Not bothering to look back, she made a beeline towards another completely different direction from the yakuza while consciously trying to filter out all the weird looks she was getting. She knew her future etiquette teacher would probably scold her when their lessons began but right now she couldn't really care less about it as she made her way towards the walls, trying to scan the crowds for Mariko.

She finally found her friend amongst a group of female students talking with a couple of male students, and she quickly made her way to them. Mariko noticed her just a few seconds later and eagerly encouraged her to join them; the gleam in her eyes forewarning Elena just who she was talking to.

"Ah, Miss Kawamura, what a pleasure to see you!" the flamboyant blond host stated, smiling to her pleasantly.

In the spirit of the occasion, Tamaki was dressed as a traditional vampire – though Elena could clearly see that his costume was of the highest quality. Kyouya and Haruhi stood a few feet left from him, dressed in similar clothes. They greeted her with small nods.

Returning their smiles she halted beside Mariko.

"Hello," she replied curtly, exchanging quick looks with the rest of the students gathered around the hosts.

"Have you been enjoying yourself tonight, Miss Kawamura?" Kyouya asked after the rest had said their greetings. There was a glint of knowing in his dark eyes that rubbed her the wrong way and she could only guess what he'd found out this time.

"For the most part," she finally replied after momentarily debating what to say.

She watched as he smirked before briefly looking something up from his black notebook. The girls around her started to fidget a little, the atmosphere becoming slightly charged with excitement as they all looked expectantly at Kyouya. The song that was being played came to a finish and immediately the girls started to take small, hurried steps towards the black haired young man; their eyes shining with hope.

"Is it our turn yet Kyouya? Oh please tell us we're next!" they practically chanted in unison.

Elena wasn't surprised to see the same hope rise in Mariko's eyes, but she had a feeling her friend was trying to be considerate towards her; toning her enthusiasm down for her sake. There was no questioning what was going on.

Kyouya smiled his ever-pleasant smile as he checked his notebook, finding the right spot with his pen as he looked back up towards the group.

"Ah, yes. Hikaru and Kaoru have just finished dancing with their last partners, as well as Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai. Tamaki and Haruhi's break is over so in total you have six hosts to choose from," he told them, his words causing a happy squeal to spread amongst the group of young women. "Now then, all of you ladies have one complimentary dance with one of the hosts but if you wish to continue dancing your night away, we have a special offer of a meager 10000 yen containing three extra dances with your desired host. Would any of you be interested?" he continued after the girls had quieted down a bit.

Needless to say, all of the girls present were ecstatic after hearing about such an offer and immediately began to dig through their purses while Elena merely sighed, noting that even Mariko couldn't resist such an opportunity. Elena also noted the slightly shaken expression Haruhi was showing and upon listening closely to his small transaction of words with Tamaki, she found out that he hadn't known about such a deal, concerned for his feet's sake. Elena felt bad not only for him but the rest of the hosts as well; god only knew how many girls had purchased the dances. They would probably be here all night.

The four hosts still absent soon arrived beside the other three and the girls quickly decided on whom they wanted to dance with. In no time at all Elena was left standing beside the smirking Kyouya and passive-looking Mori-sempai, her mind quickly putting two and two together. Eyes widening, she was just about to excuse herself when Mori extended with hand towards her, the silent question hanging heavy in the air. Elena stared at him unable to say anything. Just when she thought she'd been forced to dance enough for the night, the silent host was making her endure even more torture.

Her lack of response obviously caught Kyouya's attention as his smirk grew slightly, the action making Elena frown. She was starting to get annoyed with his constant organizing and planning. She had no doubt that he'd schemed up this as well.

Turning her eyes back to Mori's awaiting hand, she hesitantly reached for it with her own, placing her hand in his. She really didn't feel like dancing again but since declining was out of the question, what else could she do?

Surrendering to her fate, she allowed the silent host to lead her towards the dance floor, guiding them through the masses of waltzing students; Kyouya undoubtedly surveying their retreating backs. Elena felt highly uncomfortable and tense knowing he was monitoring her from afar, the stress causing her to lose her footing and trip. She both thanked and cursed her luck that Mori was there by her side, easily steading her upon her brief moment of clumsiness. He looked at her what she assumed to be questioningly to which she merely murmured a quick 'sorry' before he thankfully turned his eyes away.

Neither of them spoke as they took their dancing positions and began the slow waltz. Elena found it slightly difficult to keep her position with Mori being so much taller than her even with her heels on. She prayed he wouldn't decide to pick her up, already mentally seeing herself being lifted off the safety of her own feet and swung around like a little child. Fortunately Mori never did such thing as he continued leading them amongst the other dancers. Elena was thoroughly impressed with his dancing skills – though it wasn't really that surprising considering he was in the Host Club, not to mention his affinity in sports and such. Much to her amusement Elena even somewhat enjoyed her forced dance with him.

Unsurprisingly the both of them danced in silence, neither feeling it necessary to fill in the silence with uninteresting small talk. The last few beats of the waltz rang throughout the hall, signaling the dance was over. Mori offered her his hand once again and this time she took it without hesitation as he began to lead them back towards Kyouya's general direction. Once they were there, Mori gave a deep bow and Elena responded by curtsying politely.

"Thank you for the dance, Mori-sempai. I'm usually not that fond of things like this but I actually managed to enjoy myself somewhat," she felt the need to tell him as she gave him a bright, genuine smile.

Mori stared at her for a moment, his stoic expression softening just a tad as he nodded, the tiniest of smiles tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"The pleasure was all mine, Miss Kawamura," he responded just before Mariko made it back from the dance floor, merrily making her way to Elena's side.

"So how was your dance with Mori-sempai? You danced spectacularly by the way Elena; I tried to pin-point you in the crowd from time to time to see how you were doing."

Elena could feel herself flush just a tad from the remark as she started to fidget with her satin gloves.

"Well, out of all the times I've danced this night I enjoyed dancing with Mori-sempai the most. But as my dancing goes, I guess having a really good partner who knows what he's doing gives off that impression," she murmured feeling slightly embarrassed, Mori still standing a mere three feet away.

"Don't be so modest Elena; you dance great, end of discussion," Mariko brushed off her comment before lacing her arm around Elena's. "Now let's go find something to eat; all this dancing's making me hungry. If you excuse us, Mori-sempai."

Exchanging curt nods with the silent host, the two of them began making there way towards the long tables once more with Mariko babbling on and on about her dancing experience with Hikaru. Elena had the feeling she'd be listening to her friend's colorful yet slightly unfocussed stream of consciousness for the rest of the evening.

* * *

**A/N: **Just wanted to let you guys know about my Twitter account ( /Artenight92) I've had for quite some time now. I'll try to keep you guys informed on how future chapters are progressing through random little tweets :)


End file.
